


Child, You Deserve Better From Us Than One Sword And A World of Troubles

by ShadedCat



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Cooking, Bad Decisions, Bad Flirting, Bad Social Graces, Bend until you snap, Bisexuality, Body Horror, Broken Bones, Broken Promises, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Repression, Excessive Drinking, Existential Angst, Existential Crisis, Eye Trauma, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Secrets, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hard Decision, Hatred, Hurt/Comfort, I'm bad with staying canon lore, Insanity, Loss of Control, Loss of Innocence, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Magic, Magic and Science, Magical Realism, Orphans, POV Multiple, Painful Sepperation, Philosophy, Post-War, Protectiveness, Realistic, Repressed Memories, Repression all emotional until it's too late, Romanticism, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Self-Reflection, Social Anxiety, Strong Female Characters, Suicidal Thoughts, Survivor Guilt, Swearing, Swordfighting, Tough Love, Tragedy, Tragic Fate, Trauma, Unfulfilled promises, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Violence, War, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, bloody deaths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-04-03 21:06:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 48,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14004765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadedCat/pseuds/ShadedCat
Summary: Time is an interesting concept. It is neither fully understood, nor it is fully misunderstood. It continues to move without rhyme or reason, yet it is quantified in such.What is the soul, the being which encompasses what man is. Is it memories? The body? A combination of the two? Or maybe... Something entirely of the two? Can the soul and time both be measured in the same regard as eachother, both intangible to another and yet ostensibly intertwined with eachother. A soul splin in two, and time broken and remade.To stop the fall of man, what must one person do, what must one person sacrifice in order to keep their family safe.





	1. The Schism

Death by car accident was not how I expected to go. Then again, I can hear my inner voice channeling my mother, “Of course you’d die if you were pushing one hundred miles an hour on the freeway” and likewise I could probably hear her, dad, hell the entire family and extended family cry. I wasn’t supposed to die yet, I was young, hell too young to fucking die.

Fuck, I shouldn’t have fucking died. My dad just lost his own mom, and his dad can’t even remember who he is half the time. Why the fuck did I die!

…

……

………

Where the fuck am I!? Hello! Hello! It’s fucking boring in this dark! If this Heaven, this is some shit version of paradise! If it’s Hell… Well shit, I guess I should’ve gotten baptized earlier! Or at least been a decent person in my life.

…

Oh, look, there’s a light now… I wonder if this was how Grandma felt… Hehe, fuck it I know I’m already dead, let’s see what the fuck else is going to hit me! COME AT ME LIGHT! I'LL-- 

 

-1-

 

The Queen had given birth while the King was still out campaigning. The Queen died giving birth, the fever for the ordeal too much for the clerics and midwife to handle. The child was almost lost as well, small and not breathing at first. They had just lost the Queen, the King was still at war, and the tragedy of the first Queen was still fresh in their mind.

They had spent a fortnight on the babe’s condition, not even realizing it was girl until the very last day. Two clerics had passed within those two stressful weeks, the royal mid-wife collapsing during the process and the castle staff had called two more because of so.

By the end of it, nearly fifteen people had handled and seen the child before the King had rushed to return back, and all fifteen-lay comatose from exhaustion in the castle courtyard. Hastily stripping off his armor, the King burst through the castle gate with his retinue in tow.

“My child! Where is my child! My wife, the Queen!” His voice roared against the surprised shrieks of the castle’s occupants. His armored footfalls echoed loudly on the stone flooring, his booming still muffled them though. “My child!”

“Chrom!” The King looked to his side to see the heaving form of his sister, young Princess Lissa, her forehead was shined with sweat and she looked exhausted, near dead on her feet and using her staff to support her.

“Lissa!” Chrom ran to catch her before she fell. “What happened?”

“Your wife… The Queen is dead,” labored breathing shook Lissa’ voice, but her eyes still shined with determination. “Your child… Many thought she wouldn’t survive. Two weeks… Two weeks.” The sound of fainting crying was heard from somewhere in the now silent castle, and Lissa had a small serene smile on her face.

“My lord, let me,” Frederick approached from the side to gently cradle the Princess. Chrom nodded, gently putting Lissa in the knight’s arms before setting forth once more. He ran through the halls of the castle, his heart beating in trepidation at what was to come. The cries grew louder and louder with every step he took, and at the same time he found his legs growing more and more numb.

He noticed all the small things. His armor was still stained with blood, Falchion was had yet to be cleaned of the gore that marred it while still in its sheath, and Chrom smelled. This was no way to see his child after finally defeating Plegia.

Before he knew it, he burst through the doors and found himself staring wide eyed before him. Maribelle, after being sent back from the front, sat at the edge of the bed while gently rocking a still crying blue haired babe.

“Look, look, your dada’s here,” Maribelle cooed before casting a knowing glance to Chrom. He still stood on the opposite end of the room, starring wide eyed and nervously eyeing the child in Maribelle’s arms. “Well don’t just stand there and gawk, come and greet your daughter.”

Chrom felt his body move him, eyes still staring wide as the crying child grew quieter and quieter as he came closer and closer to her. Her… The child was a girl.

Once he was close, the child’s crying finally stopped and Chrom was able to get a good look at her. Pale skin, soft and clean. It was raining outside, he noticed, and for some reason she was completely dry.

Then he caught himself. Why would she be outside? If it was raining, she could catch sickness! As a babe, a sickness could be dead—

Chrom stared at her eyes now. Blue, like his, while her left eye… Her left eye held the brand of the exalt in it. Before he could utter a word, Maribelle smiled knowingly as she deposited the baby into his hands. He hadn’t even realized he raised them.

He nearly fell over from the sudden weight, as little as it was in his hands. Falchion is supposed to be heavier, but… This child in his arms felt stones heavier than the famed blade. Many, many stones heavier. He fumbled a little, almost letting her fall before he clutched her close to his chest.

His legs finally gave out beneath him, and he fell onto the soft couch where Maribelle had sat. The noblewoman had gone already, leaving Chrom alone with his… His daughter. Staring wide eyed at her, all he saw was… Pureness. A small child, not clad into grime or dirty cloth. His child. Soft chime like giggles as she reached to touch his hanging blue locks.

“Chrom?” He looked to see his tactician approach him now. With the hood over their face, it obscured their features from the babe held in Chrom’s arms. “I… I heard about the Queen.” Chrom’s face grew grave. He and his wife weren’t… Close by any means. The marriage had been a political one, solely for an effort in order to get an heir to secure the line. However, the two had shared some tender moments, however brief that was.

“Does the child have a name?” Chrom looked back at Robin, and a soft smile graced the man’s features. Robin thought she’d never see such a thing after the King had faced tragedy after tragedy.

“Lucina. Her name is… Lucina.” Chrom looked back at the babe in his arms, just as Lucina cheered.

-2-

Chrom counted himself blessed. Blessed by the dragon Naga who watches over his people. Blessed by loyal and strong subjects, they had followed him unquestionably into Plegia and back, blessed by stalwart companions; Frederick, Robin being two of the most loyal and even companions like Panne and Gaius were welcoming. He was proud of his Kingdom, though the reasons for his ascension still marred his heart. If there was one thing he was most fond of—

“Papa!”

It was his daughter, Lucina. He let out a laugh as his two year old daughter leapt and hugged him around the neck. Her long blue hair mirrored his own shade, and much like his, seemed rough and disheveled. Now that he noticed, the blue dress she was in also had mud stains on her knees.

“She was out playing in the gardens again.” Chrom turned at the familiar voice. Robin stood behind him, a knowing smirk on their face as their hands were tucked in the sleeves of their coat.

“Let me guess, practicing handstands, cartwheels, and other such acrobatics?” Chrom groaned. Lucina giggled before leaping, or rather flipping out of Chrom’s grasp. Landing on her feet, she stood proudly as Chrom and Robin applauded.

“She’s had a great teacher, I presume,” Chrom murmured, noting Robin shrug their shoulders.

"I simply think she just picks up things rather well," Robin responded back. "Although, I did happen to dust off the old Jester's clothes, just to stretch myself a bit." Chrom rolled his eyes as Lucina ran off once more, no doubt to see her friend Kjelle, or perhaps Sumia's baby. Chrom recalled that child's name is... C. Something with a C.

“Cynthia, that’s who it was,” Chrom commented to himself quietly. Robin looked up at him in confusion, but he just chuckled. “Just wondering about the children, Lucina’s going to have a lot of companions in the future.”

“You’ve raised her rather well,” Robin said as the two began to walk around the courtyard.

“We raised her well,” Chrom replied fondly. Though he couldn’t see it, he knew that Robin’s pale features colored slightly. “You’ve helped me raise Lucina every step of the way... You know she sees you as her mother.”

“Does she know—“

“No one’s told her, but... The look in her eyes tells more than we think she knows. Likewise, it seems not a lot can get past her…” Robin remained silent at that, unseen eyes looking distant as fingers began to fiddle themselves. “Any word from Gaius?”

“Yes... And no.” Chrom furrowed his eyebrow. “Gaius has sent word back from Valm about mounting militancy. A new king seems to be rising in power.”

“Any chance that Valm may set its sights to Ylisse?”

“... There’s always a chance, as little it can be. Valm is a large territory as is, to subjugate all of it would require a very sizable force on its own. Though if Valm were to be fully conquered...”

“Could Ylisse defend against such a force?” Robin eyes Chrom, hands fiddling once more with the hem of their sleeves. “I see you too have also begun to speculate such.

“Our army, though smaller, had the advantage of being easily more mobilized to **defend** Ylisse. The issue is our navy. Valm’s notable coastline territories have had long traditions with naval pursuits whilst Ylisse—“

“Our wars have always been waged on land, notably between Ferox and Plegia,” Chrom finished. “I’ve been made to study many of those battles. Knowing our Kingdom’s shortcomings is also a necessary practice for a ruler to have.” Robin shrugged and chuckled before looking back at Chrom once more. “All our naval capacity lies with our allies, Ferox.” Robin nodded once more.

“At most, we can count on them to aid us in the event of a naval invasion from Valm. Send word back to Gaius... As well as some candy. Knowing him, he’s probably already missing his favorites.” Robin jotted that down before both turned their attention to the shouting voice. There Lucina was, dancing atop the castle’s inner courtyard walls. Wall guards looking in fear as she danced a little too dangerously close to the edge on some landings.

“Princess!” Both Robin and Chrom recognized that baritone voice moments before an armor-clad figure sprinted through petrified soldiers to grab the young Princess out of the air.

“That is incredibly dangerous! I have yet to sweep all excess dust and stray debris off the ramparts!”

“Uncle Frederick, you’re funny.” Lucina giggled as Frederick positioned her on top of his shoulders. “Wee!”

“... I’m never letting her on the ramparts again.”

“Chrom!”

“Nope! Lucina is forever exiled from the battlements!”

“That is your daughter, you think she’ll listen?”

“I can try damnit! Frederick, Lucina is no longer allowed on the battlements!”

“At once my lord!”

“Not you too! Frederick, be reasonable!"

"All precautions in regards to safety, are reasonable!"


	2. Happy Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nya!” A girl stood on all fours as she seemed to mimic a cat.
> 
> “Caw!” A grown man stood up as tall as he could while his cloak fell alongside his outstretched arms, mimicking a large dark bird.
> 
> “Nya!”
> 
> “Caw!”
> 
> “Nya!”
> 
> “Caw!”
> 
> “How long have those been at it?”
> 
> “Three hours, twenty minutes,"

“Nya!” A girl stood on all fours as she seemed to mimic a cat.

“Caw!” A grown man stood up as tall as he could while his cloak fell alongside his outstretched arms, mimicking a large dark bird.

“Nya!”

“Caw!”

“Nya!”

“Caw!”

“How long have those been at it?”

“Three hours, twenty minutes,” a very pregnant Cordelia groaned with a soft smile as she watched her husband dance around the blue haired crown princess. Robin gave her a small smile, while Sumia giggled when she saw that little Cynthia had joined the fray. At the very least he seemed very keen on the idea of having kids.

“Gwah.”

“Nya!”

“Caw!”

Now the three of them were in a communication circle where there was literally no communication between the three of them. It was adorable, in a... Bizarre and eccentric way.

“Tell me, does this get any better?” Cordelia gestured to her swollen belly. She was rather adamant about losing her figure to her husband, though some enlargement on certain parts of her body was… Heartening to her. “Mostly because I fear what sort of... Cravings, I’ll get with his child.” While the tactician had the grace to not say a word, Sumia took over.

“It depends. For me, it was always waking up at odd hours and getting Frederick to ready some pie.” Robin briefly had a flashback of the pregnant Sumia not so long ago... It wasn’t a pleasant sight for those whom were witness to such. Naga’s love to Frederick, who someone was able to deal with that as well as stay as Chrom’s head knight, as well as taking care of his wife.

“I believe Lissa has had little to no issues with hers,” Robin replied quietly, remembering the contents of the last letter the younger sister of Chrom had sent to them. Despite the context of Lon’qu and Lissa’s marriage being political in nature, it hadn’t taken long for them to conceive a child.

“As long as it’s nothing revolting like maggots or blood pudding,” Cordelia joked. Robin and Sumia laughed before a knock on the door was heard. Sumia stood up, gesturing Robin to sit when she saw that they were attempting to stand as well, and went over to answer the door.

“Tell me Robin,” Cordelia now looked at the infamous tactician of Ylisse. The quote unquote, right hand of the King. “Why have you not tied the knot yet with Chrom?”

A multitude of reactions overcame Robin’s shrouded face. Shock, from the baudy statement made by a normally tactile Cordelia. Shock once more at realizing that it was Cordelia whom said that. Confusion as to why Cordelia said that. And above all, embarrassment from the sheer implications of the statement.

“I, uh, um, eh—" Cordelia laughed lightly, a hand covering her mouth as Sumia walked back into the main room, with the red knight Sully beside her, along with said red knight’s daughter, Kjelle.

“Kjelle!” Lucina turned to see her older friend look at her sharply, before visibly relaxing when Lucina threw her arms around her. The age gap was a year and half in favor of Kjelle, but their similar temperaments was what drew them together. “You’re here!”

“I’m here,” Sully said to the two other adults in the room before plopping down on a chair next to them. “What’d I miss?”

“Just asking why our dear Tactician here hasn’t checkmate the king yet,” Cordelia chimed with a bad pun. Another round of sputtering and red faced nervousness overcame the usually composed Tactician as they now eyed the three sets of eyes that stared predatorily at her.

Robin knew two of the three once had crushes on the King in question, notably because they confined with her about such, making this exchange even more nerve racking. The third was the King’s childhood friend, who tended to act first and never ask questions unless reminded by (Said person also was the type to get pregnant while on campaign against an enemy Kingdom and not realize it until a priest made the sudden announcement one dinner **after** a major battle).

“I, you... None of you mind?” Robin’s voice was tinier than they appreciated, barely above a whisper and squeaked out like a rusted door hinge.

“I had gotten over that silly crush for a while,” Sumia replied with a fond smile. “A crush on Chrom is as common as pebbles on a road.”

“Better not catch Frederick say that,” Sully chortled, to which Sumia laughed heartily at. Robin still wasn’t convinced and looked to Cordelia.

“I wouldn’t have chosen Henry if I still held some lingering feelings for Chrom,” Cordelia replied. “It wouldn’t have been fair to Henry.” Robin just inwardly collapsed on in themself, drawing the hood closer over their already hidden face.

“He’s still in mourn—"

“It’s been three years, more than enough time to settle,” Sumia said.

“We aren’t compatible.”

“You two finish each other’s sentences during strategic meetings, don’t even need to talk when you’re partnered up in battle, and as far as we know, Chrom’s the only one who’s seen you naked Robin.” The Tactician groaned in their hands.

“It wouldn’t be proper,” she reasoned weakly. Sully rolled her eyes and smacked, well more like punched, Robin’s arm.

“Proper can suck eggs, you helped end the damned war against Plegia,” Sully boasted. “You have the guarantee of two noble families, a Taguel, a Manakete, whatever authority Gregor has, me, and Chrom himself would defend you if need be. Hell, Libra can host your procession in secret if we asked nicely. Old traditions be damned.”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah!”

“Buu!”

The adults all turned around to see Henry, Kjelle, Lucina, and Cynthia behind them. Henry had his trademark grin on his face; while Lucina and Kjelle starred up resolutely. Cynthia just looked happy to follow the older two girls’ example.

“Henry, how long have you and the kids been eavesdropping?” Cordelia asked after the bout of silence that came from the party’s affirmation. Her husband mirthfully, red eyes alight with mischief.

“Oh, you know, sometime after the young knight’s and the young princess’ decided that they wanted to know why the King’s name was being so easily tossed around, but easily before the private humiliation of our esteemed tactician.” Cordelia stared at her husband, while Robin felt their spirit whither and die. “What’s this, have I killed the famed tactician?”

“Robin!”

“Hoy, wake up tactician! This isn’t time for your tactical retreat strategies yet!”

“Show no cowardice!” Kjelle and Lucina chimed to Sully’s affirmation. “Charge and break through the enemy’s defenses!” Kjelle added.

“I think that would count as treason if Robin did that…”

-1-

Lucina stared wide eyed at the processions around her, her mother's tiara on her head. Everything seemed so bright and happy, the castle town looked so fun! With her father, Robin, and the Shepherds around here, the town was in a jubilant cheer as they walked passed.

“The Vaike is here!” A muscley dark skin man walked proudly down Ylisstol’s main street. His arms were raised up proudly as the people’s cheer increased. The child on his shoulders stared wide eyed like Lucina at the waving people around him.

“Darling, please stop making a scene, you’re scaring Brady!” The regal looking women next to him chastised. Her eyes looked dissatisfied with what he was doing but the smile on her face did little to enforce that image.

“The Brady has arrived!”

“Not you too!”

“Oh relax Mari, let the kid have some fun and not stuffed to the brim with aristocratic bullsh—”

“Sully, children are around,” Stahl warned with a shake of his head. The headstrong women just rolled her eyes before tapping Kjelle on the shoulder.

“Back straight soldier, we’re representing the Sheperds!”

“Yes ma’am!” Kjelle saluted with a happy smile. Overhead, she stared with wide eyes as she saw the Pegasus knights soar overhead. Sumia and Cordelia along with their children danced circles in the air atop the Pegasus, while Cherche atop Minvera sped through the circles and landed atop a large building before letting out a triumphant roar.

“Good job Minerva!”

“Good job Minverakins!”

Another dragon, green scaled now, was perched next to them, with a smaller pink one beside it. They both let out roars aside the Wyvern, the Mnatkes showing off their strength for the world to see.

“Ylisse! Ylisse!” A large cascade of magical explosions was heard overhead as the team of four mages; Ricken, Miriel, Tharja, and Henry sent the spells loose.

The day was of great precession for everyone in Ylisse and the Shepherds, for it marked the five year anniversary of their triumph over the aggression of King Gangrel of Plegia’s invasion. Today was a boutiful day of merriment, as Diomedon, the province where most of Ylisse’s food came from, had a massive harvest.

“I still don’t feel like I’m worth much to parade in,” Donnel stated in embarrassment as people waved at the once young farm boy. Now he stood as tall as a man, a spear resting on his shoulder as his wife Panne walked through the streets in her beast form. Their five children riding with them as well, with the youngest Yarne sitting on his father’s shoulders.

“Rah!”

“Rah!”

“Mmm…”

“Hey everyone!”

The Feroxi enovy of Basilio, Flavia, Lon’qu, and Lissa garnered much attention as their axe throwers did a large dangerous spectacle of juggling axes. Even more so, all the Feroxi envoy did many shows of physical aptitude; cart wheels in the air, trapezes, tumblers, it was a marvelous sight to the Ylisseans whom once saw them as baseless barbarians.

The parade went straight through the main streets of Ylisstol before all the Shepeherds entered through the gate of Castle Ylisse, and then all the Shpeherds entered the main hall, children in tow.

Lucina had an excited light in her eyes as she saw all the new children. With Kjelle, Cynthia, and the disgruntled Severa in tow, she grabbed all the children before taking them into the courtyard outside of the hall. It taken a bit to gather all of them, with the child of Olivia and Virion being the shiest to let go of his mother’s dress.

“Oh come son, such lovely young ladies are calling for your company! It would be improper of you to let them wait,” Virion advised to him. Inigo looked a little surprised before his cheeks colored before being lead away by the gaggle of children.

“Wow, the palace looks so green!” Owain marveled. “There’s hardly any snow here!”

“Of course there wouldn’t be any snow, stupid,” Severa griped sourly, but the boy hardly heard her.

“Um, what are all your names?” Noire asked the others. There was a pause before everyone giggled. “W-What? Did I say something bad?”

“It’s fine,” Lucina chimed much to the girl’s relief. “It’s just I know all of you, but harldly anyone else knows eachother.”

“I’m Cynthia!” The girl stood up with a bright optimistic smile on her face. “This is Kjelle!”

“O-Oi! I can introduce myself,” Kjelle grumbled.

“And this is Severa!” Cynthia grabbed the silver hair scowling girl and pushed her forward.

“Let me go you ditz!”

“I’m Yarne! My other siblings ditched me,” the taguel muttered.

“I’m Nah!” The smallest child out of the group said.

“My name’s Gerome,” the boy with organge haired and a mask greeted. Owain made an attempt to grab the mask, only for his hand to be swatted aside. “Stop it!”

“Come on, I just want to see your face!”

“I’m Noire, my father runs the orphanage and my mother… She helps?”

“I’m Inigo…”

“I am Laurent, a pleasure to meet you all,” the bespectacled boy greeted. Lucina smield as she observed them all introduce themselves. She wanted to as well, but… All her enthusiasm had always felt false to her.

All those smiles she gave, the “happiness” she exhibited, it all felt like a façade no matter how hard she tried to make it more permeant in her life. Something deep seated made her unable to be… Truly sincere with all her actions.

“Luci? Are you playing tiger bite?” She looked up to see that the other children were running away from a laughing Yarne, acting large tiger. It looked… Fun. With the joyful façade back on, Lucina stood up on her feet and began to join in.

“Mmm! Wait for me!”

“I’m gonna eat ya!”

“Wah! Rabbits can’t eat dragons!”

The night was filled with their merriment, almost like a world away from their own. Like their own parents, the children of the Shpeherds began share a deep bond with one another. Lucina knew that this bond should hold… Should, not would though…

-2-

Mornings in Ylisstol didn’t start until the capital city’s market began to open up, hours after first light. The sun had barely begun to peak out from behind the hills, however and a certain section of the peaceful city was already awake. More specifically, one person was practicing in the courtyard of the castle.

“Hyah! Rah! Tsa!” Little Lucina held the weighted practice sword in her hands, practicing several different swings. Overhead strikes, side slashes, earth to heaven strikes, the blade seemed almost weightless in her little hands. Even her foot falls seemed light, almost dance like as she pivoted and turned, fighting invisible enemies.

This did not feel fake to her.

The six year old’s swordplay would have looked effortless on her were it not for the heavy sheen of sweat that coated her brow and stained her clothes. Dressed in only a simple tunic and brown hose, both were darkened by perspiration alone.

Lucina took one bad step however after attempting to make a riposte, tumbling she pulled her legs towards her chest as she became a ball and rolled on the grassy courtyard. She eventually stopped and lay on her back, exhausted beyond any belief as she stared deliriously at the reddened sky.

Her limbs ached, though not from the feeling of overuse but strangely from longing. More than half of her sword techniques had never been taught or seen by her, whether by her father, Sully, Frederick, or even Robin. Even despite their foreignness, the actions themselves felt like a half-remembered song to her.

“What are you doing up so early?” Lucina popped to her feet to see her father standing behind her, eyebrow raised as he eyed her untidy form.

“Good morning father!” Lucina chimed quickly with a smile. Chrom eyed her red hands, they already seemed to be developing calluses. It troubled Chrom somewhat, more than he would have.

He didn’t want his daughter to learn how to wield a sword, because learning how to use a sword meant learning how to kill. For a brief moment, a haunting image of bodies both Ylissian and Plegian flashed through his mind, a senseless war that caused a senseless amount of casualties for both sides. He quickly shook it off, no his daughter wouldn’t have to subjugated for such carnage. This would just be a simple bonding exercise between father and child.

“Are you still tired?” Chrom asked dryly. Lucina’s eyes lit up before she shook her head and picked her practice blade once more.

“I think I can even beat father now,” Lucina stated proudly. Chrom chuckled as he ruffled the top of Lucina’s head. The girl let out a squawk as Chrom made her mess of hair even more unruly. The sweat and his actions now causing several locks to stand at odd angles.

“Perhaps, but not today,” Chrom rumbled before he drew Falchion from his belt. Lucina eyed it openly, marveling at the blade. Pulling out the scabbard as well, he held both loftily in his hands before gesturing the blade hilt first to Lucina. She stared at him wide eyed as her hands held the blade. “Go ahead, it’s only right that the heir also practice with the blade she will someday wield.” A strange look overcame Lucina’s face before she spoke.

“I... Am I even worthy?” Her voice was small, confidence wavering. Chrom was quite surprised, there had not been any other time when his rather wild child of a daughter had her confidence. To see that look on his daughter’s face, Chrom felt his heart grow heavy.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Chrom said before immediately tossing a wooden practice blade at Lucina. Her eyes snapped up and she brought the blade out to strike the wooden sword, Falchion easily cleaved through the wood, the useless halves now fell on either side of Lucina. His daughter stared wide eyed at the blade in her hand, while Chrom only smiled. “There was never any doubt.”

“I see you two are still awake.” A third voice now entered the conversation, making both the King and Princess look behind them to see the tactician walking towards them. Their hood was finally out of their face to reveal the pale and soft features of Robin, framed by unruly white hair. “Rather early for royalty to be up.”

“Hi Robin!” Lucina chimed as she waved to the tactician, the tired tactician echoed her action as she approached the two. “Look! Look, I can use Falchion!”

“I can see that,” the tactician replied with a gentle smile while Lucina beamed at her. A gloved hand patted the top of the Princess’ head before she ran off, no doubt to show her friends, as well as her newly arrived cousin Owain. Both the adults stared fondly at Lucina, before Robin turned back to Chrom.

“I see last night’s activities did not seem to tire you out,” Robin replied with a wry grin. Chrom grew red faced as he felt a feeling of awkwardness tighten inside him. Robin only giggled as Chrom tried to oversee the fact that last night wasn’t like the other nights previous. He didn’t have an empty cold bed for one thing…

“Do you—I mean…” Chrom trailed off as he felt his words failed him. Last night had been a surprise reunion for the shepherds, having nearly everyone return for a five-year celebration of the end of the war. Gauis and his recently revealed wife Cherche arrived with their child Gerome, alongside an “official” Feroxi envoy headed by Lon’qu and Lissa, along with the four year old Owain. Virion and Oliva came with their own child, Inigo, as a show of good faith from Valm.

The precession got very rowdy, and though Chrom wanted to stay till the very end, an impromptu drinking contest hosted by Anna and put between himself, Vaike, Gregor, Sully, and the newly arrived Cherche. He lasted longer than Sully, who was carted off by an apologetic Stahl, and tied with Vaike who now had Miribelle lecturing him about over drinking (Vaike hadn’t seemed to mind until Maribelle dropped the bombshell that she was pregnant). He was carted off by Robin and Frederick, and last saw that Cherche and Gregor were pounding mugs back between the two, their significant others cheering them on.

_“I’m sorry for having you do this…” Chrom replied groggily. Robin only gave him a knowing look as she brought Chrom back into his room._

_The large royal bedroom had a large feather bed, that seemed empty when it was just Chrom on the bed. It also seemed devoid of any presence that lived in it, even Chrom’s own. Robin, for their part, felt rather anxious in the room. She hadn’t realized how empty the area where the King slept was._

_Chrom grew silent now, and Robin thought that he had fallen asleep until there was a pressure on their sleeve. She barely had enough time to register before she was pulled onto the bed and into Chrom’s embrace._

_“Chr—” She barely got the first three letters of the King’s name before their lips crashed onto theirs. A little squeak was let out before the lips were parted and the kiss was deepened. Several thoughts went through the tacticians mind, several bordering on how many laws of treason this constitutes considering she were technically assaulting the King in his own bed while he was intoxicated._

_There was one bit of “rational” stratagem which did speak up amongst the confounding thoughts of their mind. “When an opportunity arises, drive a force of unappalled assault to the opening”. Robin didn’t think much more after hands began to paw their hips—_

_“Stay with me… Stay with me please…”_

_There were tears in Chrom’s eyes now. Unshed tears he didn’t have while campaigning, Emmeryn’s funeral, or even the late Queen’s funeral. With his face tucked into the nook of Robin’s neck, she could feel the tears on her neck. Really, the only time Robin ever saw Chrom cry was when—_

**_“Die Ylissean scum!”_ **

**_-Slash-_ **

**_“Ah!”_ **

_“ **Robin!** ”_

_“Don’t leave me… Not you too Robin.” Chrom cried as he held Robin closer to him._

“I think you left a mark on my neck with your affection,” Robin joked much to Chrom’s chagrin. There was tense silence between the two now, one seemed to think the events of last night shouldn’t have happened while the other was secretly glad they did.

“Robin—”

“I don’t hate you,” Robin interrupted. Chrom stood silent as he stared at his tactician. “I don’t… Regret what happened last night. If you don’t—” Chrom stopped her immediately, stepping forward suddenly and meeting her lips with his. Robin let out another squeak at the unexpected kiss, but quickly moved with the flow. Wrapping her arms around Chrom’s neck and pushing herself closer.

When they parted, Chrom rested his forehead against Robin’s as they both began to breathe deeply and steadily. The memories of last night weren’t as hazy for Chrom as he thought, remembering the feelings and warmth from embracing Robin. It was addictive to him, but he was scared.

He was scared that if he held on a little too tight, he’d lose her like he lost his mother and Emmeryn. That reasoning was why he so enthusiastically allowed Lon’qu to court Lissa, mostly out of a subconscious effort to get her away from him. He couldn’t even protect their big sister, how was he supposed to protect her!

“Please… Please don’t leave me…” Chrom whispered. Robin didn't respond verbally, but her gloved hand gently held Chrom’s own, lacing their fingers together slowly.

“I promise. I won’t…” Chrom smiled as he held her close.

“Father?” Both now turned to see Lucina stare at them, head cocked to the side with Falchion still in her hands. Chrom was about to respond before Lucina’s eyes landed on the intertwined fingers of two of Ylisse’s most prominent figures. Then she squealed loudly before running over to them and hugging them as best as she could.

“Can I call you Mommy Robin?” Lucina asked as she held onto the woman. Robin, a lost for words, only stared wide eyed at the girl who buried her face in her side. She then looked up at Chrom, who only flushed under her gaze before responding.

“Well, Robin?”

_Oh gods, he’s trapped me._ Robin thought with a light smile on her face. She patted the top of Lucina’s head before replying with tears of joy in her eyes.

“Only if I can call you my daughter.” The smile that formed on Lucina’s face was so bright, and so glowing that for a single instance, Chrom thought that this feeling would never end.

It did though.

-3-

Valm had declared war against all of the Ylisse continent, sending a large invasion force from Feroxi’s northernmost port. It took nearly a week before Feroxi would learn of this, and even more before they sent word to Ylisse. Chrom and Robin had not taken the news well, as neither Cherche, Virion, Olivia, or Gauis sent any word about such encroachment by Valm.

However simply knowing that Princess Lissa was in danger was more than enough reason for Ylisse to mobilize their army and rush to the defense of their northern allies. Plegia had sent a foreword declaration that they too would be sending troops to aid in the defense of the continent. With such a force, the invasion should be rallied against in a timely fashion. Even so, separating from his daughter while she was still so young… Chrom did not want the same experience of detachment he had with his father to follow Lucina.

“Please come back father,” Lucina said as she saw Chrom ready the retinue to aid Feroxi. Robin likewise stood by the King, looking stern and grave and talking in hushed tones with Kellam and Miriel. The two of them would stay behind as both guards for Lucina in place of Frederick, and teachers for the children which resided there along with Lucina.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be backs soon,” Chrom murmured softly as he held onto his shaking daughter. The moment the call to arms went out in Ylisse, a look of fear and trepidation marred Lucina’s face. The girl, no more than six looked fearful when he pulled away and mounted the horse.

“Fall in!” Sully called out before the red banner raised. Stahl did the same with his green, while Frederick raised the crown family’s standard before the army began to march off. Lucina stood there, staring with a crestfallen expression as the horses and men dwindled in the distance.

“Princess, do you miss your father already?” Lucina turned to see Miriel standing next to her. The mage with her large hat obscuring the sun above her was able to see the tear stained face of Lucina still staring at where the forms of the galloping army left eyesight. The Princess nodded solemnly before Miriel extended a hand for her to hold, it was gripped in a tight vice like grip.

“... It’ll be alright. They’ll come back soon.”

The campaign went on for two years, and showed no sign of letting up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There indeed was a flashback's flashback, and intially this chapter and the on previously was all one chpater before I split them up. As a heads up, the reason Henry, and by extenion Tharja, are part of the Shepehrds because they betrayed Plegia. Timeline wise; this fic made the war of Ylisse and Plegia extend two years more, there are two childeren whom were born before Lucina (Kjelle & Brady) though not by much, and the war with Valm occurs five years after this Lucina's birth, around three extra years in the theoretical canon.


	3. A Teacher and Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boredom is the killer of men, slaying many and being unconquered in its own right. A beast that many have tried to fell, only to fall themselves. One cannot kill boredom, only stave it off and hope that time will tell whether or not the beast will make it next appearances weaker than the one before, and pray that the next time it comes, it's hunger has not increased...

With neither Chrom nor Robin in Ylisstol, Lucina found herself listless in her activities. Already, two years had gone by without a word from either of them. Muriel and Kellam, though good people themselves, could not fill the void her actual parents had with her.

Her friends were no help either; as Cynthia had become smitten with the ideals of the aristocratic debutantes, and Kjelle had become training in the fields with the other soldiers. The last discussion she and her mother Sully had been… Interesting, as almost tears were seen in Kjelle’s eyes when she was seen leaving her mother's quarters.

Lucina heard through the grape vines of rumors that Kjelle and Sully had an argument of some kind. Something involving Kjelle’s inability to ride a horse, despite both her parents being famed knights for Ylisse. For Kjelle who loved and respected her parents’ duties as knights, must’ve felt devasted after being told she was unfit to do the same. Once Sully and Stahl left, the girl had fallen into a near unending range of exercises and workouts with the remaining castle garrison, and General Kellam as well.

With maids trying to dress her, tutors trying to teach her, and aristocrats sending their agents to observe her, the crown princess felt stifled and stuffed in the castle. And yet she was also so desperately lonely as well. Her immeadiate friends were all caught up in their own studies, or their own hobbies. She was however, with all the time in the world, had no one to share it with.

 _Is it even possible to be both the one everyone looks too, and alone at the same time…_ Lucina thought as she did her nightly walks through the castle corridors. With only the baleful eye of the moon to peak out in the night, hardly any light entered the corridors of the castle. Even so, Lucina’s eyes, long accustomed to the opaque darkness, could easily walk without bumping into anyone.

There was something… Hazy, which compelled her to act like this. Like some half-forgotten song, where the words are not remembered, but the soft lull of the violin, or beat of the percussion played. Lucina remembered she herself had done things like this many times before doing it here in Ylisstol, and yet, she can’t remember when or why she felt like so.

It was the same when her father began to teach her how to use a sword; as limited as that was. Her father’s swordplay was elegant, strong, and regal; fit for the protector of a kingdom devoted to peace. Lucina tried to emulate that style, that way of fighting with the sword. But there were naggings in the back of her head, movements she wanted to do, but couldn’t.

In her stupor and thoughts, the girl hadn’t realized she was outside the castle walls until she felt a sudden breeze whistle by and chill her, arms going gooseflesh and she shivered. That’s when she felt that she wasn’t alone, and she turned around suddenly.

“Was wondering when the little princess would notice me,” a rough and unknown voice spoke behind Lucina. Stepping into the pale light of the moon, a man with neither niceties of Ylisstol’s castle guard nor any familiar appearance of a Shepherd Lucina knew now stood in front of her. Lucina stared even more and noticed how the man leaned on one good leg, the other seemed to be lame and supported in some wooden brace, but even so, it was unnaturally thin. In one hand was a wooden cane, and the other now revealed a small candle.

“Who are you?” Lucina demanded. The man, with gnarled worn features to what Lucina could make out, only laughed.

“Me? I am only a simple groundskeeper.”

“Poppycock,” Lucina found herself scoffing. The man looked at her with eyes full of amusement. “No such groundskeeper would look infirm and half dead.” Before Lucina could react, the man was upon her, the stick almost tapping her on the forehead. She was sent sprawling backwards onto her behind, starring wide eyed as this old man only chuckled.

“Huh, you almost go hit, which means he’s done something right,” the man sat down, eye level with the now wide eyed girl. “Tell me girl, can you wield the Falchion?” Lucina still stared at the man, backing away ever so slightly before the man raised a hand. “Trust me girlie, if I wanted to hurt you or kidnap you, you wouldn’t have known.” Still Lucina kept her guard up.

“What if I can?” The man only nodded before chuckling. “What’s funny?”

“You’re almost like he was, though there’s something… Different as well.” The man stood up on shaky legs now, using the cane heavily as Lucina also stood up with him. He reached behind him to pull out a wooden practice blade. “Take your best shot.” He tossed it to Lucina who got it, eyes wide as she stared at the practice sword, then back at the man.

“Trust me, you’re several years too—” The man didn’t finish his sentence, as he quickly raised up his cane to parry Lucina’s head strike. The wooden practice blade impacted the grass before Lucina moved to slide the blade and slip it into the space between the cane and body.

Lucina let out a cough when the cane flicked up first, knocking her in the chin and sending her sprawling back. Reflex tears crept out of her eyes before she used the blade to steady herself.

“You hit me!” she sniffled as she wiped her tears. The man just grunted before swinging the cain in his hand.

“Get over it.” Lucina’s eyes glowered with pure disgust at him, to which he only scoffed. “What? Are you gonna snivel there like a useless coward!” An intense feeling of rage emanated from deep within her. It was not a foreign feeling, but a dormant one. Something which lay inside her, a feeling that she herself knew was there but never understood why it was. Now it was awake, and intense feelings and old movements began pulse old half-remembered knowledge into a body that felt foreign in their practice.

Her body now felt now felt like not her own, and yet it was at the same time. She felt that she should be taller, more tempered in its appearance. She had awoken a grasp of old knowledge, but her body had not caught to what her mind had discovered. She needed to fix that.

The first step, wiping that arrogant and prideful smirk off the old man’s face.

With a animalistic growl, Lucina gripped the blade tighter and intended to slam it against the cane. The man however simply backed up slightly with a grunt before shoving the cane’s end into Lucina’s chest and sending her sprawling back.

“Terrible form, all muscle no skill! I thought a child from that boy would be better that that, I guess you’re as **useless** as you’re father!” That rage spiked once more, that word, “useless”. She hated that word with every fiber of her being, hated how it was applied to, hated how it was always applied to her. Everything she had done, everything she tried to do, always.

Useless. Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Like a demented mantra, it echoed in her head as she gripped the sword in her hand tighter and tighter, before her eyes snapped open and glared at the still smirking old man.

She switched her grip now, her left hand gripped the handle only and she swung it in a complicated patter, arching down first, shooting forward, before suddenly speeding up into an angled diagonal strike.

_This is one shows something._

Narrowly avoiding the strike, the cane shot down hard, intent on slamming into the handle of the practice blade in Lucina’s had to knock it away—His eyes widened as he saw the girl duck into his defense, raising her arm up to absorb the strike before she rose the end pommel of the practice blade towards his chin. It stopped just short of hitting it at the same time the cane’s end landed just in front of her eyes and impacting hard on her arm.

“Alright royal brat; you’ll be training how to use a sword with me and only me,” the old man chortled. Lucina growled ferally, almost like a wild dog. “Ha, if only the kid had your intensity.”

“Who are you!” She shouted with a voice that sounded far angrier that a thirteen year old should have.

_I might as well tell her something, she’s still a Princess after all…_

“Garret, an old soldier who knew your father… No, that’s not right, I’m the one who actually trained him how to hold his blade!” Lucina’s eyes stared wide before felt the air escape her system as a hard-forceful fist found its form in her gut, gushing air and grimy bile out of her and sent her sprawling onto the floor. Her sword fell out of her hand and she stared back up at the old man. His fist retreated and gave Lucina a cruel smile. “Stop imitating your father, his style of the sword doesn’t fit you.” A look of hurt crossed Lucina’s face as she winced and held her stomach.

“Bah, you know it’s true! Lesson one brat: You’re not the only one who doesn’t play fair, everyone doesn’t play fair. Now pick up your sword and stand up, the moon is still out and you’re not nearly tired enough to stop.”

“You’ll regret starting this old man,” Lucina growled as she stood up, ignoring the throbbing pulse threading its way through her still thin arm. The action of electing to ignore pain also seemed to be familiar as well. “Forget your age, this is going to be rammed down your throat!”

“Ha! There’s that spirit!” the man laughed. “Now come, show me how special this Blood of the Exalt is!”

**-1-**

There was talk amongst the castle that the Young Princess has been… Well it seems like she’s being beaten. Every morning, the girl would almost sleep past dawn were it not for the arrival of the maids to wake her up, usually it would just be the simple shake or perhaps a few soft words to wake her, now they’ve elected to bring a large brass bell or a few bronze pans to smash together to awake the sleeping Princess, and even then it would hardly ever produce immediate results.

That alone wasn’t a cause for alarm, with neither the King or the Tactician around the castle, the staff knew that child felt lonely. Most of the other children were caught up in their own pursuits; Kjelle throwing herself headfirst in the harsh life of a sergeant and soldier, Cynthia had grown to preen the ideals of courtly ladies while writing to her mother and father, while the youngest girl Severa seemed as strident and impetuous as usual and always putting herself into more work than was allotted to her. Laurent stayed with his mother almost exclusively, reading books or watching in awe at Miriel’s experiments atop the shoulders of Kellam.

All the children had their own facets; while the Princess herself seemed to be left to her own solemn devices. That was until recently that is, though what the Princess does was of intrigue to the entire staff. As it ended up with her receiving injuries more severe and lasting than what Kjelle gets in her training or what Severa often falls into.

Broken arms, split skin, large purple bruises dotting the entirety of her back, there was even a time there was a large red mark running up from the bottom left hand side of her face to the top right-hand side and over nose. And while the Princess seemed to smile and laugh like normal, the staff found themselves wondering what sort of devilish deal the heir of the Kingdom seemed to have made.

Her swordsmanship also seemed to excel that beyond any of her court hired tutors could keep up with. Despite her tender age of ten, she was able to both keep up and even beat some the tutors sent by the nobles of Ylisse. Though her swordsmanship was far from… Honorable to whom she fought, there was no disputing the results of any duel held between guards and tutors against the Princess; the Princess had won all of them handidly.

With a blade in her hand, she was near unapproachable. So often did she seek to fight others that she would challenge multiple guards to fight her, and often to compensate for her own singular sword, she would hold one in each hand and take a stance so alien and foreign, so un-Ylissean in technique, that no one could truly understand it well enough to defend against. However some of the trained instructors and partners had found that even while in the heat of battle, the girl had... Restricted some of her moves. There was a wide arsenal of actions and techniques that the girl refused to use against them, whether out of respect or fear it was not known to them.

“Rah!” Lady Hildegaurd stared with many lords and ladies of the Ylisse aristocracy at the large-scale melee that the thirteen-year-old crown princess Lucina held. She went against four other larger and older pages, knights in training at around the ages of fourteen and sixteen; practice blades in each of their one hands making four in total she had to ward off. The Princess for her part held one blade in each hand, allowing two blades they had to defend against.

They could hardly handle the single blade which seemed to snake and zip it’s way through their defense, sliding slashing and singing out the strident noise of the wood striking each of their own. The basics many could grasp was at least one blade in the Princess’ was meant for defense maneuvers; parries and ripostes, while the other was a merciless combat of offensive prowess; hitting areas of the body that would not be fatal in the long run, but would sap the strength of anyone whom fought her with live blades.

This was not counting the Princess’ own tempered agility and almost inhuman maneuverability. One would think the Princess had been trained as some sort of tumbling troubadour, or maybe even a circus acrobat with how it seemed the force which pushed everyone’s feet planted to the ground. She could leap into the air, tuck and tumble and sail over the pages before landing behind them, crouched low and ready to deliver swift strikes to their unguarded backs or legs.

“Who has taught the Princess such distasteful swordsmanship?” the Duke Ronald of Hub grumbled as he stared as his own page be bested by Lucina.

“No idea, all the tutors that the court had assigned to her have all… Left,” another lord responded. Lady Hildegard however kept her eyes trained on the young Princess, wondering what sort of demon had trained a child to fight so… Ruthlessly.

“It’s not right for a child, much less a girl to learn such—Bah!”

“Many apologies my lord!” All the lords and ladies turned to see that someone had spilled a bottle of wine onto Duke Ronald. Everyone turned to what can only be described as some of lame house servant. The man, if he could even be called that, was old and wrinkled. Long grayed hair scraggily and barely kept within the confines of the black ribbon he wore. One leg was bound in a wooden brace, and he seemed to not favor it as well as the other.

Why such a man was serving wine was beyond everyone!

“I am sorry milord, I shall—”

“Enough of you! I shall do this myself you incorrigible oaf!” With an indigent huff, Duke Ronald walked out of the courtyard as his page was knocked aside with a strike to his helmet by Lucina with the flat of her blade.

“Bah! Wake up Garel!” Duke Ronald roared. The rest of the lords and ladies however could not help but stifle their laughter. Perhaps seeing the man be upstaged at the cost of seeing such ruthless swordsmanship would be worth it. Even if this damnable war still seemed to drag on…

**-2-**

The war had dragged onto to its third year.

Cynthia wondered when her mother and father would come home. Most of the ladies’ stories had gotten rather boring and she wanted to see her mother soon. All the ladies kept on talking about some sort big war that had taken most of Ylisse’s able bodied men and women, Cynthia understood it that the war is what’s keeping her mother and father from coming home.

She also knew why they were in the war; but because they were apart of the Shepherds, the King’s most elite and well-trained companions. Cynthia said she didn’t like the war, but that she still wanted to take of Pegasi like her mother.

_“Well to do that, we need you to know how to ride one. When I come back, Cordelia and I will teach you how to do so!”_

_“Yay!”_

_“We’ll also have to make a spear for you to practice as well…”_

_“Mommy, I don’t wanna fight!”_

Cynthia and her mother had said that when she came back; Cynthia would learn how to use the spear from her and Aunty Cordelia. Severa had made some sort of huff when Cynthia said she’d be learning from her mother, and it made Cynthia confused. Wouldn’t Aunty Cordelia be teaching Severa had to use a spear as well?

“-omeone’s got to tell her.”

“Who? She’s nine years old! It’ll destroy her.”

“By the Gods, imagine how the child will take it...”

“From what the courier said, it seems like he doesn’t have long too—”

Cynthia walked into embroidery chamber, ceasing all conversation from the ladies inside. Everyone turned to her and some froze at the sight of her. Cynthia herself looked perplexed at all of them. Not one met her eyes or looked at her, and Cynthia felt uncomfortable at their stares.

The tense silence was broken however when they heard a man cry out. With wide eyes, all the ladies and Cynthia went to the opened window to stare at the courtyard, where the yelling seemed to have come from. There they saw a most usual spectacle at this point, young Princess Lucina with her practice blade running circles around the guards who were unfortunate enough o be her opponents for the day.

Cynthia noted how one of Lucina’s arms was in a sling, so she couldn’t use the two swords. However, with that handicap, it seemed that none of the guards could actually catch the cackling girl. It seemed so out of place for the Princess and heir to the throne to be so… Brutish in her behavior, to Cynthia’s eyes.

“It’s a wonder that’s not—Oh dear heavens!” Everyone stood in alarm as something came barreling over the walls and landing in the courtyard, almost running into Lucina had she not rolled out of the way and turned towards what nearly ran over her.

“That’s mommy’s Pegasus!” Cynthia squeaked happily before running out of the room. She however did not see the paling of the ladies faces at the sight of Sumia’s Pegasus.

Cynthia ran down stairs, almost making it down safety before her foot caught on the last step and she was sent tumbling down. She would have smashed her face into the stone floor had an arm not caught her.

“Watch where you’re going you klutz,” Severa’s scalding tone didn’t even phase Cynthia’s jubilant mood. Instead she stood up after the silver haired girl helped her up. “Why are you even running, gawds.”

“Mommy’s Pegasus is back!” Cynthia chirped happily. Severa’s eyes widened before Cynthia sped past her and out of the corridor into the field. Already there was a crowd gathering in the courtyard, everyone vastly interested in why a Pegasus had landed. “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”

Cynthia broke through the crowd and expected her mother to grab her and hug her close only to see… There was no one there to catch her before she fell on the ground after jumping. Face down in the dirt, reflex tears came out of from the pain of hitting her nose on the floor before she looked up.

In front of her was the snout of her mother’s Pegasus, Magnolia, sniffing at her hair gently. It looked tired, ragged. There was an arrow lodged in its flank, and what looked like fletching embedded in the wings. Already a castle physician and a cleric had moved beside the girl to check to she was okay.

“Where’s mommy?” Cynthia cried, sniffling back the tears from falling. Immediately, the entire court froze at the girl’s question. Not one moving, not even breathing, as the air filled with such unease and palpable tension that it was almost suffocating.

Something…. Something was wrong, Cynthia could feel it. Why wasn’t anyone talking? Why did everyone look so sad? Why wasn’t Luci able make any eye contact with her? Was it because Mommy’s Pegasus nearly ran into her? Mommy would apologize for that, wouldn’t she? What was wrong? **What was wrong!**

 “Where’s mommy!” Cynthia asked even more firmly now, standing up and looking around those around her. “Where’s mommy!” There was a raw crack in her voice as she turned around to see if she could find her mother.

“Cynthia…” Cynthia didn’t realize she was crying until she felt something salty on her lips. She moved her hand to wipe it away, almost chastising herself for how unladylike that was, until she saw on her hand the glistening water, tears.

She looked up as Uncle Kellam approached her, a look of solemn stoicism on his face. His large armor blocked the sun and she saw that on his face, despite their stony features, a lone tear slipped from his eye.

“Cynthia…” Kellam went to grab her, only for Cynthia to move away as she stood and began to look through the crowd. She was trying to find Sumia in the large crowd.

“Where’s mommy!” Cynthia didn’t even feel the tears fall now, even as they slipped off her face and dripped onto her dress. “Mommy! Daddy! Mommy!” She kept on looking as everyone felt either too weak to resist her pushing, or felt the girl needed to let it all out.

The sound of clopping hooves however stopped Cynthia in her tracks as she felt teeth grab the back of her dress. She was raised up off the ground, legs kicking uselessly as she stared around her. She looked behind her to see Magnolia starring at her, large brown eyes holding an emotion that Cynthia did not expect to see from an animal, pain.

The Pegasus dropped her unceremoniously on the ground. Cynthia felt numb as realization sank in, but still, a part of her wanted to think that this wasn’t true. That maybe this wasn’t Magnolia, or that Aunty Cordelia was going to bring Mommy on the back of her Pegasus, or maybe Daddy was going to gallop in like he always did and bring Mommy with hi—

Cynthia stopped as she saw what was held in Magnolia’s mouth before the Pegasus dropped it into the girl’s hands. Cynthia stared at it and felt her heart shatter in a millloin pieces.

_“But I don’t wanna be a soldier! I don’t wanna hurt anyone!”_

_“Sweet don’t worry. When this war ends, you won’t have too.”_

_“Promise?”_

_“Promise.”_

_“Then can you train me Mommy! I want it to be like you!”_

_“Hahaha, of course sweetie. We’ll start by making your spear together.”_

A spear head rested in her lap as she stared at it with eyes wide with shock. Her hands felt numb and yet shook as she held it. There was small inscription etched on the blade. “Cynthia, the strongest Pegasus knight.”

“… Uwah! Waa! **Waa!** ” The tears poured freely now, cascading down the child’s cheeks as she clutched the spear held close to her. The entire court fell into silence as her cries echoed into the silence of the picturesque blue sky and bright. Rancorous cries rang through and long, as it was felt within the entire castle. “Aah! **Aah!** **AAH!** Mommy! Daddy! Come back! I want my mommy and daddy to come back!”

Lucina stood in the shadows as she watched Cynthia break down. Her mouth set in a firm line as she felt her heart beat. It was even, and her eyes were stared without emotion. A dull imperceptible throb in her heart, but nothing else. One thing went through her mind.

_Why… Why can’t I cry?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 14  
> Kjelle - 15  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 12  
> Nah - 11  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 10  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 13  
> Yarne - 12
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia


	4. Feral Dog's Maw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a dog has been beaten for doing good and doing bad, what else will a dog do but turn feral? When a bird that has kept itself in a cage all its life, will it know freedom or will it find that freedom is its own special cage? Do the sins of the father transmit to the childeren, or all sins kept on person alone...

Lucina found herself outside again, holding her practice blade under the moon's light. Old man Garret was waiting there as usual, dressed in his dirty gambeson, cain in his hand and wooden brace on his leg. For him, it was another night "training" the young Princess how to better use her blade. For her, it was... Two days after Cynthia had learned of her mother and father's deaths.

Something about it troubled her, a longtime feeling which had now poked it head from the innner depths of her own heart. Why could she not feel sadness at their passsing, as if there was a wall which barred her from crying, feeling sad, or understanding what Cynthia felt. Frederick and Sumia are... Were among the closest advisors to her father and Robin, and yet... She could feel nothing.

This brought out that deep seated anger, and she gripped the practice blade before diving at Garret, raising high and intent on slamming atop his head. He merely scoffed as he pivoted his cain to block her attempts and jab at her chest, pushing her back. Lucina rolled back to her feet before rushing once more, blade held low before swiftly being projected forward for her own stab at him. He moved to block it, only for Lucina to cease her stab, and instead flick the blade down and snap it up, intent on hitting his head. 

Garret laughed openly now, oh how the little Princess had so many devious little tricks she had. None of it he taught of course, no he was a reciptacle. Someone Lucina could practice all her techniques and swordplay on without fear of actually injuring them. Because unlike most of the other guards, he had no fear of hitting the Princess of their Kingdom. He hurt any royal without any remose. Lucina's dislocated shoulder could attest to that sentiment.

Lucina on the other hand felt somewhat of kinship with Garret. He was not father, far from it, nor was he Robin, no one could replace Robin as Lucina's mother-figure. No, Garret... Was her teacher. Teachers... Were something which she cherished very dearly, and she knew no reason why. Though not a tradional teacher, he did not teach her much, but he was someone whom she felt close to for guiding her in her swordsmanship. A small part of her however felt against this idea, that it should be father who should teach her, but at the time, boredom outweighed duty for her.

 _Clang. Crack! Thunk!_ The wooden sword in Lucina’s hand did ferocious beat against the cane the old man had in his grip. No matter how hard her offense was, the old man’s guard was nearly impenetrable. It was always like this for Lucina, fighting against an almost impenetrable wall.

After nearly two hours of melee, Lucina grew too fatigued to move. Her arms and legs crying out before she collapsed onto her back, practice blade casted off to her side as Garret sat down just opposite of her. The young Princess breathed hard, chest rising and falling in the same tempo of a galloping war hors.

“You’re improving,” Garret coughed into his hand, he saw that there was blood on it. Lucina got him in the stomach a few times, not that’d he tell her. However, he knew she could have gotten him more times, but something was distracting her today. “However you're also distracted, that’s not good.”

“It’s nothing…” Lucina replied tiredly. Garret narrowed his eyes at her. “Fine, who are you really?” Garret knew that wasn’t what was biting the girl, but it might as well be time to reveal that as well.

“I’m just an old soldier—”

“No, you said you were my father’s teacher. He never mentioned you to me,” Lucina interrupted.

“He should do well to not. I was chosen by his father to teach him.” Lucina looked confused and Garret laughed. “It’s good that the kid never told you, but it’s naïve of him. Your grandfather, the King before your father, was a hard man. He’s the reason why Plegia and Ylisse have such bad terms.”

“What do you mea—”

“After nearly a century of peace, your grandfather decided to declare war on Ylisse and invade the land!” Garret barked. Lucina shrunk at his tone, but never left eye contact. He could see the brand in that left eye of her’s, starring back at him. “We marched onto Plegia, intent on destroying that land in blood and fire.”

“W-Why would he! Ylisse is a land of pea—”

“No one knows why he did so,” Garret waved off. “It was like a dark god had taken possession of him, he rallied a draft and marched off to war before the kid was even aware who he was and left his still pregnant queen in my care. After this,” he patted the leg which was in a brace, “I was sent back to Ylisse. Me, the best swordsman in the whole army sent back to protect a pregnant queen and train some noble idealistic brat son—” Garret’s cane rose up to stop Lucina from throwing a punch at his face, yet he still continued to talk, “—to fight. While he went and slaughter every man and woman child that got in his path.” Lucina’s body went slack as her face went pale at the tale. “It was a godsend that the boy soldier plunged that tagger into his heart and allowed truce to drawn up in the wake of his death!”

“… Grandfather… He... He caused the war?..” Lucina paused as she stared at the ground in shock. She fell back onto her behind before looking at Garret, now she noticed the old man’s stony features. “… Why are you training me?”

“Because that’s all I can do now apparently,” Garret replied with a shrug. “I tried to do the same with your father, but he’s far too stubborn in his noble ideals—”

“That’s not exactly true is it.” Garret stopped and stared at Lucina. The Young Pricess' eyes were wide and wild, hands now gripping his gamebson. He didn't if he let her do so, or if she had finally gotten skilled enough to bypass his instincts. “That’s partially why, but you’re not telling the whole truth. I demand you tell me why!” Garret stared at her before chuckling lowly.

“Fine, you got me. I don’t trust that Plegia will honor the peace treaty,” he growled. “We’ve killed far too many of them to not want to strike back… And something’s wrong with everything. Valm declaring war on all Ylisse for no reason? Only a fool would try to conquer all of Ylisse by first going through Renga Ferox. Wahlhart is no fool, there’s something wrong and I feel like your father isn’t up to the task.”

“My father—”

“Is an idealistic fool, who thinks with high noble ideals!” Garret roared back. “You are not your father, don’t even try to pretend to be like him. You may share his blood, but you’re less idealistic than he is. You see things as they are; bleak, short, and brutal. A war with Valm may or may not take your father and his tactician, and if it does, Plegia will be sure to strike back. Ylisse will need someone who will produce results.”

“What? Like grandfather!”

“Yes, no, I don’t know! I am a soldier, a killer, all I know is that this war with Valm is going to turn into something worse, and Ylisse is going to need a leader who needs to make hard decisions! Something that your father can’t ever make! Your father can lie to himself with all the false noble claims he can, to give himself ideas of honor to abide by, but everyone who holds a blade is a killer! We are all killers! We slaughter our enemies, hack them to pieces, and scatter their remains for the idea of a bloodstained peace! Your father did that to Gangrel, and one day the Plegains will do the same to us!” Lucina only stared with wide eyes, not speaking, before turning and leaving. Garret watched her run, still wondering why he decided to train this girl. Why did a girl want to learn how to use a sword anyway, didn’t she know that using one would mean she’d be training to kill people? Did she want to do that? Become a killer?

Was it because of fate, that he would be tied with these royal killers? Some gut feeling that something was wrong? Or maybe he was so angry and bitter that he wanted to leave that anger in a child after killing so many. Or maybe he was hoping that if he got her angry enough, the girl would kill him like he did to those children.

Or maybe because he wanted to destroy any hope of innocence from the line of a man who wanted to genocide an entire nation for some stupid false prophecy he heard from a traveling soothesayer...

**-1-**

Lucina stared from the shadows of the wall at the courtyard. One month, two months, three months passed before she decided to mingle with others. Her lessons with Garret ended that night three months ago, and instead she wanted to reconnect with her friends.

She wanted to start with Cynthia, considering she’s heard that the girl who once idolized her when they were younger was now trying to become a Pegasus knight. She had to tried in vain to make conversation with her, but everything was… Tense. Maybe because Cynthia knew that because of her father’ decision to go to war, it lead to her mother and father’s death. Maybe because of how Lucina fights, without honor or “justice” as Cynthia called it. Or maybe because Lucina found herself unable to look at Cynthia in the eye after seeing Sumia’s wedding ring dangling from her neck.

In those three months of training, Cynthia’s spear instructors deemed her skills adequate enough to practice with others. This is what Lucina saw now, Cynthia with her spear against Kjelle, the girl hoisting a large wooden practice shield and spear against Cynthia.

“The Klutz is gonna fall again.” Lucina looked to her side to see Severa, the girl two years her junior with her trademark frown that seemed five years her senior as she sat cross legged and stared with narrowed eyes at the two. Lucina quirked an eyebrow at the girl, something that Severa did not fail to notice. “What?” Her tone was abrasive as usual, though that didn’t mean Lucina minded it.

“Was wondering if you were talking to me or yourself,” she responded. Severa snorted, though did not respond verbally. Lucina only rolled her eyes before looking back forward. Indeed, true to the silver haired girl’s prediction, Cynthia feet tangled with themselves before she sent herself tumbling terribly to the ground, landing on her behind as Kjelle easily pointed the blunted practice spear at the girl’s face.

“Drats, I thought I’d gotten you there!” Cynthia sighed, though the smile on her face did not wane. Kjelle only shook her head before righting her shield up and helping Cynthia up.

“You’re so clumsy on your feet, thank the gods you’re trying to become a Pegasus knight,” Kjelle stated bluntly. While most would have taken it as an insult, Cynthia only giggled before the Pegasus Magnolia trotted over to her and nuzzled the back of her head.

“Gah! I just tied those!” Kjelle didn’t respond, instead she began to retreat back towards the guard’s barracks. Lucina watched her go. Yesterday it was told to Kjelle that her mother and father had been killed in action, a large skirmish had decimated the cavalry battalions of the two of them, both died of severe wounds that the camp physicians couldn’t treat in time.

That news had come from Severa’s own mother, Cordelia. The prodigal Pegasus knight and her daughter were at a tense impasse. An argument that could be heard throughout the entire castle, yet the exact nature of the argument had yet to be revealed, was heard throughout the entire castle. After that, neither mother nor daughter had spoken much to each other.

“This is all your fault,” Severa muttered quietly. Lucina looked perplexed before Severa suddenly stood up and walked away. Lucina, acting on impulse, went to question why before a hand smacked hers away. “Just leave me alone **your highness**!” The vehement venom behind the girl’s words was striking to Lucina.

She and Severa were by no means, close; nowadays hardly any of the children were close to her, not Kjelle who had thrown herself hard into training, Cynthia and her way of fighting were too different to be compatible despite the young girl’s once idolization of her, while Laurent was intent to read his books. Lucina now realized that she didn’t have a much of a relationship outside of her father and Robin, and Garret but she didn't count that any more, but the jab at Severa gave still stung her heart greatly.

“Severa…” Lucina trailed off lamely as she saw the girl run off. Her blue eyes looked forlorn before feeling a familiar but hated feeling of isolation come over her.

 _No. Stop that, I should go trai—_ So caught up in her thoughts, Lucina ran into someone. Her forehead connected solidly to the steel breastplate of a familiar Pegasus knight.

“Ah, Princess Lucina,” Cordelia looked down and smiled at Lucina. The conversations between Cordelia and Lucina felt like a godsend for Lucina, as she was able to hear about how her father and Robin where doing. “I’m sorry for running into you.”

“It’s okay,” she replied rubbing her forehead. Codelia however seemed anxious, looking around skittishly. “Are you looking for Severa?”

“H-Huh?” Cordelia looked down at Lucina now. “O-Oh, no it’s fine. I was just going to tell her… Never mind. If you see my daughter, uh… Never mind.” A melancholic look was left on Cordelia’s face before she too left Lucina. A deeply placed fear was set in Lucina’s heart, anxiety spiked up in her body.

**-2-**

Kellam stood by Miriel as two stood by Cordelia as she packed her Pegasus. The prodigal flier did not look like her prim and proper self, her eyes had darkened circles around them and she seemed tired. The fight she had with her daughter had damaged her moral stability, that much was evident.

“Are you sure you don’t wish to stay one more day, to patch things up with Severa?” Kellam asked. Cordelia smiled warily at him and shook her head.

“Issues with a relationship have a higher chance of being remediated if there is communication between the two troubled parties involved,” Miriel advised. Cordelia just chuckled at the woman’s analytical response. Cordelia may be a genius, but the one who’s intelligence is to never be questioned was surely Miriel’s.

“Perhaps. However, maybe it’s best to let time mend the wounds,” Cordelia replied. “I know I’ll come back and see her again, both I and her father. I’ll make sure that she knows that the one we’re fighting for is her.” With a sad smile, Cordelia leapt atop of her Pegasus, righting herself on it before saluting to Kellam and Miriel. “Thank you for watching over the children; that’s from everyone… Especially for those whom we’ve lost.” Dark looks clouded Kellam and Miriel’s face at the mention of their lost friends.

“Hyah!” Cordelia kicked off her Pegasus and road up into the air of the midday sun, intent on returning back to the campaign. Overhead clouds seemed to gather as the red sky glowed with a warm hue. If only for the unmistakable sound of string hitting wood was heard over twenty times. Kellam and Miriel could only stare in absolute shock as twenty arrows sped towards and impacted the Pegasus rider and her mount. Cordelia fell back down just outside the gates just as fire spells began to fly towards the castle.

“Open the gates!” Kellam bellowed as he began to rush out towards the gates. It was barely big enough for him to squeeze through before barreling into an assassin that thought the same. With a roar, he drove his spear through that man’s chest and out the other end still continued to run through. Run until he saw the broken bloodied body of his friend being descended upon by a myrmidon-wyvern squad. One had their blade out, about to finish Cordelia off before Kellam slammed his shield into him.

He let out a grunt when he felt sword pierce his lower leg, but preserved before sweeping his spear in a large arc. He stood protectively over Cordelia, eyes fierce with vengeful anger as he stared at the surrounding men. He recognized their colors anywhere; Plegians.

“Come at me! Look at me!” The normally soft-spoken man was wrought with anger. A Plegian assassin thought he would be fast enough to duck beneath his spear, but a hard smash from his shield showed that he was able to fend them off. Another came within range of his axe and cleft in two by savage warcry that was very unlike the man.

The Plegians now had their attention solely on Kellam, heavy armor and sharpened weapons more than what they themselves had on. If one was lucky enough to get behind and stab him in the back--

The sound of galloping hooves was heard and the Plegians turned just in time to have several of their own members be speared by the rushing Ylisse cavalary men. Several retreated and regrouped near their mages, the Knights creating a roving defensive perimeter around their general. Kellam turned to see the castle guards arrive.

“General Kellam!”

“Get her back to the castle,” he deposited Cordelia’s form onto the back of the horse. He tried to not look at the arrow-stricken body of his friend. “The rest of you, form in behind me and—hrk!” Kellam coughed a harsh breath, noting that blood spewed forth. He looked down in time to see a sword’s blade poking out of his armor. He turned around to see a once thought dead Plegian assassins who sword was held and plunged through him. With a roar, Kellam plunged his axe the man through his front while roaring in his face. The grip on the sword grew slack before Kellam through him off his weapon by smashing his shield into his face.

“General Kellam!” The General only coughed once more, then looked back forwards to see a troop of Plegian dark mages begin to move forward.

“Belay my orders! All of you retreat back to the castle and evacuate through the tunnels,” Kellam dropped his spear and pulled out a satch of javelins.

“General—”

“Did I stutter Captain? Do as I say and evacuate the castle, now!” With a roar, Kellam threw his first javelin. It flew true and straight, spearing a Plegian in the chest as they continued to march without any falter in their steps. He heard the hooves shuffling behind him while he stared ahead at the burning city, screams in the air. Even as the spells came at him, he still threw the javelins picking off as many as he could.

It is bad to say that he didn’t hear that at the moment. No, what was on his mind as the dark mages charged up their spell was about his wife and child. Hopefully either of them would forgive him for dying without saying goodbye.

“For Ylisse!” Kellam roared as he charged forward through the dark magics that attacked him. He paid no mind that a spell broke the armor covering his arm, nor did he feel the muscles of his legs get torn apart from the malicious magic. He strode forward, full of zeal and loyalty to his family. He pushed on forward past the spells which began to erode him slowly, first breaking his armor apart, then his flesh. “See me now!” He roared as he hurled his last javelin at a mage. He stared triumphantly as it pierced their body, smiling proudly even as he was blasted apart my magic until there was no trace left of Kellam the Unseen Shield of Ylisse.

_Live strong… Laurent…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 14  
> Kjelle - 15  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 12  
> Nah - 11  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 10  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 13  
> Yarne - 12
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia  
> Kellam


	5. No more Home to Go Back Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The castle has fallen, the defenders are routed. The streets are on fire, and Ylisse blood coats Plegian axes and swords. A Sheperd may lead their flock, but ultiamtely, the entire flock will not survive when predators come to hunt... Where is home now?

Miriel stared with solemn eyes as Severa leaned over Cordelia, one of her hands covering Laurent’s eyes just enough for him to not see the gruesome details, but just enough for him to understand the knowledge of death.

The castle walls may be being bombarded by magical spells, while the defenses and defenseless people of the castle town may be being slaughter as she thinks, but this last moment being daughter and mother made time stop as Miriel stared at the two.

Her heart grew heavy, and she did not know the answers to their current situation. Severa soon grew frantic and hysterical as Cordelia’s eyes began to dim, and she began to scream bloody murder as she desperately tried to hold onto her broken mother’s hand. Lucina however, the child seemed to have her father’s blunt actions, restrained her as Miriel moved to Cordelia’s stead, pulling her back despite the desperate struggle that silver haired girl put up.

Her husband should have been here, he was the best at making people feel better in his own quiet way. He should be the one to hold their child’s hand as she had to do her work. Her damned, stupid, invisible, visible husband with what could only be described as a paradoxical existence should have been here to help this child, and not died buying them these precious minutes to rally their own defenses. He should have stayed with her and Laurent.

… No, he would not have made it without being struck by a spell. His armor was too heavy, and so he could only push forward. Miriel held Laurent’s hand, as the child stared with wide eyes at the scene in front of him.

“I hate Lucina! I HATE YOU!” Severa screamed with tears streaming down her face, and spittle covering Lucina’s. The young Princess said nothing as stared stoically forward and with a grim line, good, Lucina has her head on straight. Not like Miriel, who desperately tried to not feel the shaking in her hands and she checked Cordelia’s pulse. “I hate you! **I hate you! I hate you!** ”

Nothing, she stared at her friend’s tragically pure eyes, glistening still with the moisture of tears, marred by bloodstains. Like the painting Ophelia; beauty framed by tragedy of situations, eyes starring unchangingly at a callous and cruel world. Miriel gently shut Cordelia’s eyes, she would not want to see her daughter cry anymore.

Now her hands were visibly shaking as she moved to take Cordelia’s wedding ring off her finger. Standing up, she went to the now silent Severa. Arcthunder and arcfire blew a section of the wall, sending two arches flying and careening down to the ground. Slow, steady, stability of one’s body can often be determined by the speed of one’s actions, if one moves too fast they risk instability of their entering being.

Without a word, Miriel placed the ring into Severa’s hands, the girl’s who eyes screamed bloody murder as those around her. She stared vehemently at her mother’s corpse as it was laid there, amongst other dead soldiers.

Why was her mother placed in such with the common rabble. Her mother was perfect! The best! A genius! She shouldn’t be in a place like some sort of common rabble! This wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair! It’s not—

Miriel stared in wide eyes as Lucina’s open palm hit Severa at the base of her neck, sending the girl’s body into a conscious collapse and falling limp. It seemed that the lessons that Miriel gave the girl came in handy, at the strangest of times. With a silent look, she handed Laurent to Lucina, who know held both children.

He… He was still so young. He shouldn’t have to go through this at such a young age. He should have bene her apprentice, and she would have taught him all of the mysteries of the world, along with his father.

“Mama?” He still didn’t understand. She smiled sadly at him, tears begot in her eyes as she placed her hat atop his head. It dwarfed him, naturally, and covered his vision. He squirmed a little, and a sad smile overcame her features.

… _Two years. It’ll take two years before he fills it out._ She watched Lucina drag Severa and lead Laurnet back inside the keep.

“Ma’am,” Miriel turned to see a grizzled old man with a brace in on his leg, though now he was out of his soiled and battered waffenrock and now into a proper military uniform; a swordsmaster’s ornamental robe, three swords tied to us sash as he hobbled forward.

Miriel knew who he was now, after seeing him and the young Princess practicing late at night one night, curiosity bit at her at who the mysterious “Garret the old soldier” was. “Your orders?” Today a legendary war hero was now a common castle guard under her command.

Records upon records almost held nothing, until she found a half-burned book with his name in it. He was one of the Shepherds, one of the first from the time of Chrom’s father. “Garrison” Garret, a man’s whose skill would rival that of an entire garrison of enemy and ally forces, made inept the maimed leg and haggard age.

“Get the children out of here,” Miriel stated emotionlessly. She stared towards the other defenders of thee castle, already most of the walls had begun to fall. “Retreat to the inner halls of the castle, hold them off there to get all the civilians out of here.”

“Yes ma’am,” Garret saluted before barking the orders to the other soldiers, despite his age, his voice still carried weight. Maybe it was his uniform, or maybe because some of the soldiers really knew who he was and kept silent due to loyalty and reverence to him. Regardless, he got them all moving.

Soldiers began to retreat, back up the motte and into the grand palace. Those few who were unable to or decided to stay back, gathered around her as she held the tome in her arms. She out of the corner of her eye, Garret close the palace’s doors. The iron gate slamming shut.

The enemies still kept moving forward.

“Take no prisoners! Sacrifice their hearts to Gri—”

“ _Valflame_ ,” Miriel casted as she set the Plegian zealot ablaze. Charred flesh was rendered from bone, as the intensity of the flames burned even those not caught in the immediate pyre. The soldiers around roared as they moved forward, spears at the ready and piercing the invaders.

_The castle tunnels are a nearly two mile long twisting corridor. Gates and dead falls are able to stall the invaders long enough. A minimum of ten minutes are need to—_

“Die Yliss-“ Miriel’s eyes winded before she backpedaled to avoid the slash of an axe.

“Asinine knave!” Miriel hissed before a pyre of flame erupted. “Ylisse will never fall!” Such emotional and statically improbably words would have never be spoken by her, but… Sometimes life has no calculations.

“ _Nosferatru!_ ”

**-1-**

Lucina struggled holding the weight of Severa in her hands and Laurent still lolling behind her. Her grip on both was tight, her eyes darting through the corridors that Garret was leading her through. Passages she hadn’t seen before.

“Luci!” Lucina turned behind her to see Cynthia running towards her. The pig tailed girl with her practice spear looked scared and pale faced. Behind her was the ladies of Ylisse’s nobles whom thought a war would never reach the capitol like it did fifteen years ago. Lucina also spotted Kjelle behind them, half of her armor on and a look of grim realization at their situation. “What’s going on?”

“We should fight the ene—”

“Are you an idiot girl?” Garret hissed at Kjelle. She stared wide eyed at the hobbling man, firstly about to respond with equal anger, until she saw his ornate but worn robes. “You wish your life for some piece of land and stone?”

“The Capitol can’t—”

“A capitol is a place; the people are impermanent,” Garret responded emotionlessly. Kjelle stared at him in confusion before something rocked the castle. All the ladies screamed, and Laurent finally got the hat to stop covering his eyes.

“Mama?” Laurent now looked around to see where Miriel was. The ladies looked at the child before one grabbed him and kept him

The castle shook once more and there were voices in the halls. Garret swore under his breath before approaching a derelict fire place and kicking the back of it out. He let out a groan as he gripped his braced leg, everyone saw the dark passage that lead out.

“Lieutenant Garret!” A soldier approached the swordmaster. The old man grabbed him roughly.

“Get all these people out of here!” He roared to the soldier. He gestured to the remaining fifteen of the castle’s garrison, the youngest and most unharmed of the entire garrison. “You need to keep these lords and ladies safe, get all the servants out of the castle and protect them until they reach Fort Rutermark in the north, or if need be, the Feroxi lands even further north, understand! You’ll end up in an old abandoned mine opening near Southerland and the march will be long and hard. Spread word to all of the towns that capitol has fallen!” Garret roared before pushing the man into the crawl space and drawing one of his blade, a curved one and he held it one hand tightly.  The other reached into his belt to pull out another blade, iron, and shoved it into Lucina open hand.

“Garret?” Lucina stood frozen as the soldiers began to shuffle the older lords, ladies, and castle servents through the crawlspace. Many of them still shaking as the castle continued to shake, shouts of battle all around. Cynthia and Kjelle helped the soldiers, doing their best to keep a watch out. “What about you?”

“Go brat, my leg won’t let me move fast enough. Besides, I’ve finally got the death I’ve wanted!” Garret laughed sadistically as he pulled out his other sword. Lucina gave him a sad look, one that knew the man’s “wish” wasn’t like that at all. “I’ve given you the knowledge to use that sword there, but I haven't fully told you the curse of holding it. You may like fighting now, but if you kill, you'll feel it in your very soul. We both don't have the noble lies your father or anyone else has to help them sleep at night, only our own tollerance. Hopefully you live long enough to forgive me for teaching how to. Now, get moving!” Garret pushed Lucina into the arms of Kjelle and Cynthia, who stared at him with wide eyes.

“You’re the children of shepherds, and she’s got the Blood of Exalt running through her veins. You keep her safe, and keep her grounded, got that? The Exalt’s Shepherds are what leads the Exalt, not the other way around.” With that last message, the three pushed Lucina and the unconscious Severa through the crawlspace before Garren grabbed the large table that he remembered fondly and threw it over it, crudely hiding it. Fond and bitter memories played unseemingly once more.

_"This shall be a great hall for all of us to share!"_

_"My King, you shouldn't--"_

_"Bah, Garret, I'm not your King in these halls! I'm only Lucis here, my friend!"_

_"Lucis..."_

_"Come off it Garret, if the King wants to be merry with his  Shepherds, what sort of loyal retainers are we to oppose that order?"_

_"Hahaha, ah Marius, always the second to break formalities."_

_"The King was the one who helped deliver my childeren when there were no midwives to help my wife! He's the one who broke formalities first if anything!"_

_"Country bumpkin..."_

_"Oi? What was that you Steel Bucket?"_

_"Peace between the two of y--"  
_

_"No one asked the clerical wet blanket!"  
_

_" **Do you wish to anger the Gods!** "_

_"Always an odd day with the King's Shepherds..."_

_"Would we have it anyother way Garret? Hahaha!"_

“Ylisse scum!” Garren didn’t even bother turning his head as his left-handed blade slashed out to intercept a heavy axe strike, while his right flicked out, severing the caraotid artery of the Plegian barbarian. Turning back forward, Garren noted the large crowd of Plegain foot soldiers that stood in front of him, axes and spears at the ready.

“Congratulations you death cult dastards! Today you get to meet your god by way of my sword! I hope he’s happy to see your ugly faces when I send you to him!” Garren’s swords flashed in the light before he rushed forward with a battle cry. “ **Today you all find out if your god is here for you!** ”

“Lucina!”

Severa still in her arms, Lucina dragged both of themselves out of the mineshaft entrance. The fifteen soldiers around them formed a tense defensive perimeter, eyes flicking at every chased shadow and every trained for every snap.

“Did you carry Severa the entire time?” Kjelle questioned with wide eyes. Lucina didn’t bother responding, no her eyes were starring from the direction where they had come from, that pinpoint never leaving her mind.

Just above the mine shaft and off in the distance the sky glowed red as black smoke billowed in the air. Ylisstol Keep. As the sun dipped down even lower, clouds began to gather overhead in masse. The first drops hit Lucina without her knowing, first a few drops then a downpour. The soldiers and servants lead the nobles out of the rain and into the tree line to avoid being soaked.

Lucina however still stood in the rain, eyes trained the burning castle… Her burning home. As the rain poured down, Lucina knew that if she could, no one would notice them. However, as she stared at her burning home, she felt… Nothing. She couldn’t even cry if she wanted too, not for the loss of her father’s closest friends and her teachers, nothing. Was she… Broken?

Hollow was the feeling that she wanted to ignore for a long time, she thought she’d be able to fill with all the training, learning, and attempts at social connection, but nothing came to fill that hole as she realized. Nothing filled that bottomless pit, and it sucked and held everything down.

“Luci! Get out of the rain!” Cynthia shouted. She blinked and realized she had gotten completely soaked, her clothes and hair drenched as she realized the rain had now begun to downpour. The Pegasus knight in training grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

“We have to keep moving! We have to get to safety.”

 _… But what’s the point in it all?_ The hollow feeling only continued to grow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 14  
> Kjelle - 15  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 12  
> Nah - 11  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 10  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 13  
> Yarne - 12
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia  
> Kellam + Miriel  
> Cordelia


	6. First Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sword is a curse. For every life taken, a stone is added to your back. How many stones can you hold before your back finally breaks?

The first night after was the hardest for them all. Many of noble ladies were in tears as what had just transpired just hours ago. The capitol, fallen. Plegia now successful in burning it to a ruinous wreck. The three Shepherds of King Chrom's died in an effort to allow them their own escape. All such things, all wove a woeful tale that threatened to break them all.

None felt it more than the children who had to witness such destruction at such a tender age. Kjelle had kept a stoic façade, but her hands shook as she stood watch, spear in her hand. Cynthia's smile seemed to be lacking its usual luster, while Laurent, after being told of his parent's deaths, grew solemn and quiet.

Severa now looked at the still emotionless Lucina with a heated wretched gaze. The two's relationship, as little as it was, was in tatters. Upon waking up after Lucina rendered her unconscious for a majority of the day, the silver haired girl had tackled the Princess and began to savagely beat her. Despite her age and known combat prowess, Lucina allowed it to happen. Taking blow after blow to her face, and yet to painful groan or sharp intake of breath was heard from her.

Eventually Severa had stopped hitting Lucina and just collapsed onto the girl, crying and bawling as everyone began to make a small camp for the night. Lucina merely ran her hand up and down the girl's back as she bawled into her already soaked clothes, her face a mess of purpling bruises and split skin.

Now the two sat on opposite sides of the camp's interior. Lucina with her blade resting on her lap and starring at the half-moon, and Severa glaring at the girl. Neither had said to word to anyone else, or each other. It bothered everyone.

"I don't like this…" Cynthia admitted. Kjelle looked at her before looking back at the silent darkness. No fire would be used in order to avoid any Plegian patrols to find where they were. "Luci's all quiet now…"

"Wasn't she like this before?" Kjelle muttered. Though, perhaps it was partially her fault. She may have been almost two years older than her, however the gap in natural ability between the two was… Staggering. It made her angry, envious of the girl's innate abilities that her mother also prioritized. And what did the Princess do with it? Lounge around and have mock fights without ever training.

That emotion, unbeknown to her at the time, had caused the friendship to detiorate until all that was left was silence and attempts at Lucina to try and reconnect. Kjelle, in hindsight, wished that she didn't let that emotion get to her. The girl who she saw like a little sister when they were younger, now seemed like a total stranger no—

"Where did she go?" Kjelle stared wide eyed at the place where she swore she saw the Princess sit. Cynthia also turned to see what she meant, and nearly screamed. They were about to rush around and alert everyone until Severa's voice chimed in.

"Stop worrying you idiots, she walked off." Her tone was as biting as usual, but there was something else on the back of it.

Severa tucked her knees under her chin and held her legs closer to her body. One of the guards had taken off his cloak and wrapped it around her now, giving her some warmth. It now hit Kjelle how young Severa was when she saw her mother die. She was fifteen, and the news of such still burned her still.

"… I wanna go home," she heard the girl whisper in the stillness of the night.

Lucina unsheathed the iron blade, tying the scabbard to her still damp belt. With the half moon out, she had plenty of light to examine the blade.

It was heavier than a practice blade, the end tapering into a solid weight much like the time she held Falchion. The handle was worn, having been used some time in the past. A feeling of… Nostalgia welt up within her. Swords were something she had an inclination to, well weapons in general if she were to be honest. It was more than just seeing the movements and other Shepherds exhibited when they did mock spars in the courtyard, but something far deeper within her found the aesthetic beauty in the design of such.

At that same time, that hollow pit within her also emanated an air of foreboding towards weapons. Gently, she ran an open palm over one side of the blade, not even flinching as flesh was cut and a thin line of red was drawn out. It dripped onto the flat of the blade in three drops before Lucina pulled her hand away and clenched it tight against her sleeve, applying pressure to stem the wound.

She whipped the blade out now, feeling its weight and temperance. Her shoulder and forelimb strained slightly with the new unfamiliar weight, but she persevered. Gripping it tightly, she went through a show of movements to acclimate herself to its usage.

" _A real blade is heavier than that of a practice one, so everything you do with this must be given twice the amount of effort to attack! Twice the speed to overwhelm and slip through defenses! Twice the strength to drive into the hearts of your opponents!_ "

It became a melodic dance to her, holding the blade as striking invisible foes. What she envisioned was meant to be Plegians, she should hate them. See their deaths as others now do. Hurl all her anger and rage at them, yet she could not.

"We marched onto Plegia, intent on destroying that land in blood and fire." A flash of her blade would deflect the slash of another, before she pushed forward and thrusted into their upper arm. " _While he went and slaughter every man and woman child that got in his path."_  An overhead block before rolling forward with it and slamming her elbow in the jaw of her opponent, knocking him before her blade slashed up intent to cleave him from waist to chin.  _"But everyone who holds a blade is a killer! We are all killers! We slaughter our enemies, hack them to pieces, and scatter their remains for the idea of a bloodstained peace! Your father did that to Gangrel, and one day the Plegains will do the same to us!"_

"Rah!" She swung and sunk her blade into a young Ash sapling. The sword lodging itself firmly in its trunk. That hollowing feeling was back, amplifying even more than usual as Lucina gripped the blade tightly.

She let out a deep and held in breath before she yanked the blade out and sheathing it. For the time being, that empty feeling was abated, still present, but abated.

_"I'm useless at everything you know, so what's the point in even trying?"_

"Shut up!" Lucina swung around and slammed her fist at the Ash sapling, already damaged, split the bark and revealed the inner wood underneath. Where hollowness was, rage flared up. But when it was extinguished, the hollowness increased. Where. Where did this come from? Why is this emptiness so prevalent when she wanted to feel what others can! Happiness, sadness, anger, regret, sorrow, why can't she feel them!

_"I mean come on, what's the point in it all? Everything dies. No noe ever stays. If everything is meant to die, what is one life worth."_

_"Shut up, shut up, shutupshutupshutupshut—"_

"Luci?" The girl turned on her heel at the sound of Cynthia's voice. The moon overhead had been overcast by the clouds, and so almost complete darkness clad the land. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to see the faint silhouette of the Pegasus knight. "Are you there?"

"… Yes." Her voice came out even, she realized that her youthful optimistic tone she had when she was younger was… It was not her voice now. "What's wrong?"

"Everyone at camp was wondering where you went. I heard your voice here and… Uh, wanted to see what you were doing." Lucina felt somewhat glad for the pitch darkness, if Cynthia saw her face now, she'd probably think she was angry at her.

"I was… Practicing," Lucina admitted as she drew her blade. Cynthia looked at the silhouette of Lucina, with the blade now extended, there was something… Sad about it. "Holding a real sword… It's different than the practice one."

"It can't be that different?" Cynthia questioned naively. Lucina gave her an unseen look before flipped the blade and handed it hilt first to the girl.

"Here, try holding it." Cynthia did, and nearly fell over from the unexpected weight.

"Waa!"

"Be careful!" Cynthia nearly would have tumbled and fallen onto the blade had Lucina not acted fast and stopped her. Even in the absence of light, Cynthia could only watch as Lucina moved with such practiced and unflinching movements to stop her. "I told you to expect the weight, but I didn't think you were this weak."

"Hey!" Cynthia puffed before holding the blade higher, using two hands now. "I'm not the delicate girly girl you knew from before! I've been practicing and getting stronger! I'm just used to spears, swords are like, something different!" A soft stuttered breathing came from Lucina, and it took a second for Cynthia to realize that the noise was Lucina chuckling.

It astonished her, Cynthia had never heard the older girl sound like that for so long. Not since… Not since before King Chrom and the Tactician Robin left for Valm, leaving the Princess here with a friend who started to dislike her for her hobbies and another who barely had the time to talk if she wasn't training by herself… Cynthia realized now maybe she had a part in why Lucina changed, and that struck her deeply. She was glad that the moon was still covered, because she could feel silent tears slip down her face.

"Are you crying?" Cynthia felt her face go red, and she looked down. Maybe it wasn't as dark as she thought.

"N-No," she whimpered. Lucina didn't say anything more after that but moved her arm so that she brought Cynthia close to her. A warm embrace, despite the older girl's cold exterior, was ceased Cynthia's tears. "… Luci, do you know the way back to camp?"

"Mmm." The two soon both walked back to the camp, nearly running into Kjelle who still stood sentry.

"You two go rest," Lucina told them both. They were about to protest, but the overcast over the moon broke apart to reveal the wide-awake eyes and alert stance of Lucina, while the other two seemed haggard and exhausted. "I'll stand watch for the night." Wordlessly, the two went over to the other ladies and female servants of the castle, making themselves comfortable with the limited supplies the group had taken before leaving Ylisstol.

Lucina was now left in the darkness of silence, staring at an abyss which stared back. Unsheathing her sword, she kept it on her lap as she stared endlessly. Another feeling, not a hollowed one, sprouted just behind her chest. If felt… Warm, to her.

**-1-**

The remnants of the castle had split once more; half of the soldiers sent with going with the Princess in the children north to Ferox, while the aristocracy of Ylisse would take the other half and try to establish a lasting defense against Plegia by raising their own garrisons.

Now the group; numbering with four other children, fifteen soldiers, and half of the original castle staff began to journey northward. The province of Themis however had already begun to grow and fester with Plegian bandits and barbicans, moving like large roving bands of locusts.

They had no mounts, and so they traveled on foot.

"What happened to Magnolia?" Lucina ventured during a time where the group had taken a rest to scrounge for food. The two girls were sent to a nearby town to ask for supplies and spread the word.

"I set her free before we left. Arrows can only catch a Pegasus if they're unawares!" Cynthia smiled. Lucina nodded. "She'll find us again, I know it! Mommy always says a Pegusus Knight and her Pegasus are inseparable, they're souls will always be together!"

_Said… Not says…_  Lucina corrected mentally with a frown.

"Luci! Stop looking grumpy! We need to look like two lost girls, not angry ones!"

"Ah… My bad," the Princess responded before she felt malicious intent surround them. Cynthia also felt it and grasped her lance tighter as Lucina did the same to her blade.

"Well, well boys, looks like we found a few lost girls!" A cruel voice laughed. Lucina narrowed her eyes and trained her ears. Five sets of foot prints. Heavy set, but not labored by armor.

_Plegian bandits…_

"Move when I do… Do not hesitate, not once." Lucina whispered quietly to Cynthia, though the girl looked confused before turning around to see that they were surrounded. Five Plegian marauders now encircled them. Large muscled men with furred armor, exposed chests, and large axes in their hands. They smelt of blood and smoke, and seemed to consider them less than. One had a wineskin in his hand and guzzled it all down before speaking.

"What do you two—" Lucina did not give him the chance to talk. Pushing off her leg, she unsheathed her blade in a single motion with a single long cut. The iron blade flashed in a metal blur, slicing from hip to shoulder to the lead Plegian who spoke. He let out a sharp cry as a line of red sprouted before Lucina turned her blade and sliced horizontal across his throat. A splash of red erupted before she turned her attention to the man next to the now dead Plegian leader, a snarl on her features as she slammed her blade on the head of the axe.

Fire, anger, rage, emotions now flooded through Lucina as she held her blade. A large smile formed on her face as she realized this. If emotion would not come to her in situation unless she fought, then she'd fight. That would be her meaning, to fight, to kill. In the heat of battle, that is where her heart lay!

"They're arm—" Another got no further as Cynthia let out a shrill cry and swung her lance at the man's head. "Oi! Oi!" He got no further as Lucina cut him down from behind, her iron blade cleaving his body in two. Then without hesitation, she moved to block an axe strike that would have hit Cynthia's unguarded side. She hardly buckled under the strike, and her eyes lit up with fiery malice as she stared back at the Plegian axeman.

"You got—"

"Blah, blah, blah! Talk less!" She hissed before shooting her foot out with enough force to snap his knee. He let out a cry before she knocked the axe aside and shoved her blade through his head. This left two more.

"Die you bitch!" Lucina's raised her blade, anticipating the downward strike of an axe, only for it to not descend. The axe clattered to the ground as blood sprayed forth from a point on his neck, dusting Lucina in red before he tumbled back. Cynthia stared wide eyed at the bloodied lance in her hand as Lucina stared at her with wide eyes.

A snap of a branch reminded Lucina of one more enemy, who attempted to run. One thought went through her mind.

_No witnesses._  Zeroing her eyes on the retreating figure, she held grabbed a fallen axe in one hand before flinging it with all her weight. It spun several times in the air before lodged itself in the man's upperback. He let out a mangled shout before he fell forward. Cynthia still stood stock still as Lucina made her way to where the Plegian still attempted to crawl away.

"You'll get nothing from me,  **Ylissean dog!** " the bandit garbled. Lucina said nothing as she gripped her blade tightly and plunged it into his back. He let out a strident scream as he still tried to crawl away, only for him to spasm as she began to shift it around, enlarging the wound and making the blade dig deep into his body. He let out a strained scream as it began to go deeper, and deeper, he could feel into his soul. A little girl was doing this to him?!

"Tell me this, what did you do to the village west of here?" He said nothing at first before Lucina moved the blade once more. Cynthia couldn't move as she saw the girl with a face of stone do this. It was… Was so inhuman.

"We... WE KILLED THEM ALL!  **RAN THEM DOWN LIKE CATTLE AND—** " He was silenced as Lucina drew her blade free from his beck and sunk it into the back of his head.

"Thank you for that information," Lucina muttered before she stood up and whipped the blood off her blade. She sheathed her blade and turned around to face Cynthia who still stood with a forced troubled expression on her face. Lucina blinked before turning around. The sound of coughing followed by intnse retching was heard.

Lucina decided to let Cynthia rest, giving her space before continuing towards the village. Maybe, just maybe, those were words the Plegians said were false. That maybe it was just a ploy.

But upon seeing the smoldering ruins of a village, vultures and crows pecking at desecrated corpses, she only clenched her jaw. Taking a deep breath, she stared at the village before hearing the sound of someone approach her form behind. Turning, she saw that Cynthia was making her way towards her.

"There's nothing left," Lucina remarked. Cynthia looked confused. Then that confusion turned to horror before Lucina flicked her forehead.

"Yowch!"

"Cynthai, stop frowning," Lucina echoed passively. To which the other girl looked at her with perplexed eyes before they widened.

"That was a joke! Luci, you just told a joke!"

"Mmm."

"Hehehe, Luci you do have a sense of humor!"

"I'm leaving you behind."

"Ah! Wait u—Oof!"

"… Watch where you step."

"Ouch…"

- **2-**

The two did not speak of what actually transpired, but raising the notion that the village they were meant to get supplies being destroyed, the group quickly redoubled their plans to reach Ferox. They were initially questioning why Cynthia seemed less talkative, but a harsh reminder from Lucina about their pursuers was enough to hasten their movement.

That extra haste however proved to bore fruit as the party soon came upon an untouched town whom have not yet heard the fall of the capitol. They were first distrustful of such rumors until when Princess Lucina herself strode out and spoke volumes in cold neutral tone about the destruction of Ylisstol.

The village, initially fearful, soon grew hopeful as the soldiers said they would provide them protection if they too wished to flee northward to Feroxi. In celebration, the villagers allowed them a day's rest and lodging, before they would all flee.

"Lucina, you should eat more." Kjelle gave a concerned look to the Princess whom just had a few bread rolls and a sasuage. Lucina looked up, she had a cup of wine in her hand. And though Kjelle would have made a comment that the Princess wasn't of age yet, she couldn't do much when she saw the girl drain it all in one draft while starring at her dead in the eyes. Severa seemed to the opposite of Lucina, greedily eating the food in front of her.

"Not much hungry," was Lucina's short reply before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"An average person needs around a meal of three rolls of bread, two chicken legs or one brisket, and a few slices of apple for a noonday meal in order to be fine for the next day," Laurent supplied from the side. Cynthia fussed over him, wiping his mouth of the ham and cranberry jam. "Please cease, I can do so myself!"

"Well if can, do it faster!" Cynthia griped as Laurent tried to fight her off. The other seemed to share amusement in the spectacle, while Lucina only stared in mute contemplation. She wiped her mouth once more with the back of her hand as she drank another cup of wine. "Lucina, at the very least take a bath! You've been wearing the same clothes for days now!"

Lucina looked up from her musings to see Cynthia stare at her. Once her words reached her ears, Lucina looked down at her own clothes. The attack had attacked her just as she moved to change into her own nightclothes. She was able to put on a pair of leather leggings and an overcoat, but a majority of her clothes were unchanged after the five days of walking. The bloodstains from the woods outside the village…

Lucina eyed the copper tub that the village headman has set aside for her. She had stripped off her clothes before easing herself into the war. She let out a hiss at the feeling of the unexpectantly warm water hit her skin. She sunk down into the tub under her entire head was submerged.

The heat of the water comforted her as she lay at the bottom. The weightlessness was… Peaceful to her. No sound entered, no light entered, it was just her alone, with her thoughts.

_The blade plunged into the man's back. Screams. Screams. **Screams.**_

_"That's murder."_

"Uwaah!" Lucina sprung out of the tub in a rush, eyes wide and alight with action as she grasped the sword which still stood beside the tub. She turned around and found… That she was still all alone. She shook herself.

_Nothing. My mind is playing tricks on me._  She thought as she sheathed the blade once more and looked to the clothes that someone had given to her before she entered the room. Drying herself off, she put them on; rough blue hose and a white tunic, and knee high boots. Simple clothes, though she did wish it wasn't white that was given to her. Black would have been fine, blue as well, why white?

_I'm not even a Princess anymore…_  She thought as she tousled her hair and put the tiara back in its place. Her hands lingered on it. It was her mother's, a tiara that the late Queen wore out of habit. It held no regal significance, Ylisse had no such jewelry like crowns sans the Fire Emblem, yet Lucina found herself wearing it. A memento from a woman whom she never met.

"Lucina? Are you done?"

"Mmm." The door opened to reveal an unarmored Kjelle, who seemed much like her, had taken her own bath. The two noted how each other that they still had their weapons despite the situation's celebratory mood. Kjelle though had a cloak and a lantern near her waist.

"You're still going out, aren't you?" Lucina knew that Kjelle meant her nightly strolls to protect the camp. While other slept, even her, Lucina would walk tirelessly as a sentry.

"Are you planning to stop me?"

"No… I'll walk with you." The Princess didn't even bat an eye as they walked out of the bathhouse. She only said, "hide the lantern" before the two began their patrol. Lucina noted that Kjelle shared that same look that Cynthia did when she was near them. An odd sort of sad drift of the eyes. It was peculiar to her, but she made no move to question it.

Instead while the night's festivities were still going on, Lucina and Kjelle walked in silence. Kjelle noted how heavy her foots falls were despite not being in her armor, unlike the near silent footfalls of Lucina. Had Kjelle not known Lucina, as mysterious and secretive she was, she would have thought her almost a ghost.

A snap of branches caused Lucina and Kjelle to go silent. Without a single thought, the two drew their weapons; Kjelle her spear and Lucina her blade. Both crouched low behind a tree as rapid footfalls began to go closer and closer to them.

Kjelle saw as Lucina's ears twitch in an almost cat-like manor. With her eyes closed, her brow furrowed before a hand raised up, a single finger. It took several seconds before she realized that Lucina was signaling that there was one person she could hear.

" _Wait here_ ," Lucina mouthed before sheathing her blade. Kjelle was about to question the girl's request before the Princess scrambled up a tree. Kjelle stared in awe as Lucina easily set herself upon the branch, back arched and eyes narrowing as the padding of footsteps were heard. The moment a slight silhouette was seen, Lucina leapt.

Diving onto the figure, Kjelle rushed to support Lucina, bring her lance up to point at… A pair of ears.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" The capture person's shrill voice made Kjelle wince upon hearing it, yet it was familiar. Lucina had her arm wrapped around the person's throat, but something about them was stirring up old memories. It sounded like—

"Please don't kill me! Please! Please! Please!"

"Yarne?" Kjelle relaxed her spear before she moved closer. Lucina also ceased her movements before standing up with the person in tow. With his neck in her arms, the figure was lifted off the ground as Kjelle brought out the lantern to shine light on their captured person to find the half-taguel locked in Lucina's arms. His face began to grow purple and though he was struggling, Lucina's vicelike grip kept him immobile.

"Kjelle? Lucina!" He squeaked before Lucina dropped him. He let out a cry as he fell, but quickly clasped onto Kjelle and began to cry. "Y-You're alive! You're both alive!" He began to cry in more earnestly as he grasped onto Kjelle. The two girls only stared, one in shock and the other curiosity, before Yarne spoke once more.

"T-They told me everyone died! That I was—"

"Woah, woah, slow down!" Kjelle pused Yarne back slightly, the boy looking up at her with tear stained eyes. "Start from the beginning Yarne, I can't understand you!"

"D-Diomedon village! I-It burned down!" Yarne cried. Kjelle looked crestfallen while Lucna became contemplative.

_It was a naval landing. Diomedon is isolated enough that the force could have blitzkrieg to the capitol._  She stirred up after her thoughts.  _What's a blitzkrieg?_

"P-Papa tried to hold them off, b-but h-he—" Yarne grew more and more hysterical and began to hyperventilate. Kjelle held him at an arm length once more.

"Stay with me Yarne, what happened?"

"P-Papa died! H-He died w-with the village militia! T-Then Mama brought u-us to the burrow, b-b-but then they set it on fire!" Yarne sobbed. Kjelle's eyes widened, no… Then that means— "W-We dug a hole, b-but no one else could fit! M-Mama said she, C-Cotton, Silk, L-Lycra, and P-Poly would be out soon. S-She gave me these!" Yarne held up a wedding ring at a Beaststone, it hummed with power as he held it close. "B-But Mama n-never came out, and t-they… It was ashy, and I-I ran. I abandoned them! I d-didn't help them!"

"Yarne," Lucina's voice cut like a knife. "How did you make it here? Diomedon is almost a week's travel to Capitol alone? Did you see anyone?"

"P-Plegian s-soldiers. B-Beastform h-helps me move faster, but some saw m-me a-at the crossroads. T-They were following—" Lucina's eyes widened before Yarne's ears perked up. The sound of string hitting wood was heard before Lucina tackled both Kjelle and Yarne to the ground.

Arrows flew overhead and Lucina let out a hiss. Kjelle saw that her side had been hit, the arrow poking out the back into the front.

"I just got new clothes," the young Princess hissed all of a sudden as she broke the fletching of the arrow.

"T-They're here!" Yarne screamed as he scrambled up onto his feet. Kjelle drew her lance before Lucina pawed at Kjelle's side.

"What are you doing?!"

"Buying time!" Lucina hissed before ripping the lantern off her belt and throwing it at the ground. It broke and the candle inside lit the dry grass alight, the glow revealing several Plegian archers and myrmidons in the trees. "Run! We have to get everyone to leave, now!"

The three set off running as spells and arrows flew overhead. A fire spell singed Kjelle and another arrow came dangerously close to piercing one of Yarne's ears before the three made it back to the village.

"Plegians! The Plegians are here!" Yarne's shrill voice set everyone a stir as arrows whizzed past him and spells exploded. The villagers awoke as chaos began to descend onto them. The two of the three soldiers who were on nightly watch were struck down by arrows, while the third was barely holding her own against the myrmidon's swift strikes at her.

One strike to her armored wrist sent her lance flying away. She saw with wide eyes as she the blade began to race towards her face, expecting death to take her. A figure however tackled the Myrmidon from the side, the soldier stared wide as she saw it was the young Princess.

Before the myrmidon realized what had happened, several hard fists were already descending onto his face. Blow after blow, punch after punch, it was ferocious fury of pure primal action as the man's face soon became less human and more like red paste.

When the Princess stood up, hands red and bloodied, she hardly gave a glance at the trembling soldier as she picked up the fallen Plegian myrmidon's blade. Instead she pulled out her own iron blade and held two loosely in her hands.

"Either stand up and fight or help aid the villagers in evacuating. Don't hesitate." The Princess' voice was tempered with unrestrained excitement before she rushed forward, her iron blade flash out to parry against a strike which was aimed at her, before the second blade cut the inner thigh of the Plegian. He let out a cry before she maneuvered herself within his guard and slammed the pommel of her blade against his face before scissoring his throat.

The soldier could stare in shock as Lucina easily intercepted another axe strike easily swaying out of the way before her blade lopped the hand of the man before her second blade embedded itself in their thigh.

"My god…" The soldier breathed before being pushed aside. In front of her now in half of her armor was daughter of Ylisse's strongest knights. In her hands was a spear which she plunged into the gut of a Plegian.

"Move it, now!"

"Did all the civilians escape?" Lucina's voice hissed out over the sound of the melee. The ground became scorched in flames now, a lantern, a torch, maybe even a fire tome had set the area ablaze.

"We're ready to leave! You two, let's go!" Cynthia's voice called out from the flames. Kjelle began to slowly back away while fighting off Plegians, Lucina following close behind before her ears picked up the sound of crying. Turning she saw between flickering flames that Severa had gotten surrounded by Plegians, in his arms was little girl who held onto her tightly.

With a snarl, Lucina dove through the flames, not minding that part of her clothes were now ablaze. The Plegians turned to face her as she broke free, her blue eyes shining with murderous intent as she slammed her blade through the crossguard of the closest one and into his chest.

Her blade lodged in his chest, Lucina had to let it go used her arm to absorb the sword strike which aimed at her neck. She hissed as the blade cut through the thickened cloth, biting through flesh but not through the bone. With her other hand, she slammed her open palm into his throat, collapsing his wind pipe before her fingers shot back out and into the man's eyes, feeling the squishy feeling of an eye before squeezing and pulling the optical organ out.

The man screamed in absolute pain before Lucina twisted into his sword arm to knock him away and grab his sword before it fell. She slammed it into the man's gut before she ducked underneath an axe swinging at her. She blocked another swing by bracing the sword against her shoulder, the shock of the blow making something crack in Lucina's body before she sharply kicked the man into the fire. She turned to Severa and grabbed the two with her injured arm, uncaring that it was a near bloody mangled mess.

"Move, now!"

They ran atop of his flailing body and caught up with the others. Lucina throwing both Severa and the child into the arms of another before collapsing herself. Only due to Cythia and Kjelle's attention did she not hit the ground, and instead was put into a wagon where everyone saw the full extent of her injuries.

Back at the village, a large pyre had now consumed it in its entirety. Villagers who looked back felt tears enter their eyes as they saw their home go up into flames. The Plegians though now had a large pillar of flame to fight through now to get to them. One thing however the Plegians knew to pass to their leader.

Princess Lucina was still alive, and she was heading north.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 14  
> Kjelle - 15  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 12  
> Nah - 11  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 10  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 13  
> Yarne - 12
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia  
> Kellam + Miriel  
> Cordelia


	7. The Dead Never Stay Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home is long gone, blood has been spilt in the name of self preservation. How much more can they take before one of them begins to bend or even break?

"You're an idiot, you know that, right?" Lucina glanced up from the back of the hastily made wagon that held her. Severa walked beside her, glaring at her. "Who takes an axe to the arm, and an arrow through their side, and doesn't notice they're on fire until they pass out!"

"Mmm." Lucina just lay on her back, though her blades still rested besides her. Severa only pouted. Most people would try to argue with her, or try to placate her, but Lucina… Lucina just didn't do anything. That always made things ever worse for her.

I even said all those words… And hurt her… Severa's eyes looked at the still bruised black eye that Lucina still sported after nearly a week since she gave it to her, it was her branded eye as well. Now with burns covering her body, one of her arms wrapped tightly against her, and her bandaged torso, the Princess of Ylisse still had a near apathetic face.

It infuriated Severa to no end.

"There's no use making conjecture from a problem without all the facts." Severa turned to see Laurent walking beside her. The youngest of the children in this caravan, he was still struggling with keeping the hat atop of his head.

"What?" Severa quirked an eyebrow at him. Laurent seemed unperturbed at her accusatory tone, and just simply walked forwards past her to talk to Yarne. Severa watched him go before nearly screaming when she felt something touch her hair.

"No! Marigold, no!" Cynthia cried as she tried to pull the Pegasus off Severa. The late-Sumia's, and now Cynthia's, Pegasus had been found hours back. The creature standing in an empty field with its wings damaged, but no untreatable. The pure joy on Cynthia face when she it was enough to give even the down trodden village refugees a smile, despite losing both friends and their home. Unfortunately, that horse had a bad penchant for nuzzling the heads of people whom do not want their heads to be nuzzled.

"Buzz off you overgrown pigeon!" Severa spat. The horse only neighed while Cynthia giggled before she and the mount trotted away. Severa was once again left with her thoughts… And the still silent Lucina in the cart beside her

"This is so stupid…" Severa scowled as she kicked a rock on the ground. She shivered as a sudden gust blew by. "And it's cold…"

When night fell, the drop in temperature grew even worse. Now they had to make fires to stave off the cold and to make sure those who were injured did not get even worse injuries. Luckily the wide open field they were on proved to give good enough visibility to avoid being overtaken upon at night again. Now villagers hastily armed with the remains of armaments patrolled alongside the trained soldiers and Kjelle.

Cynthia had taken to the skies for a brief second to confer that there were groups, Plegians or otherwise, anywhere near them. The makeshift camp held a somber atmosphere, hardly anyone talking except to say that the food, hastily packed provisions, was ready for everyone to eat.

A cause for alarm occurred when Princess Lucina pulled herself out of the wagon she had laid for the past day. Her arm was wrapped tightly to her bandaged body. A deep cut into her arm, several burns on her body, three broken ribs, and an arrow wound; and yet the Princess still stood up almost without any difficulty, grabbed a cup of watered down wine, a small cut of mutton, and say away from everyone to eat. Cynthia and Kjelle approached to help her, as she only had one functional arm, but a stiff look from her made them retreat.

All attention was on Lucina, and Severa took the time to sneak out herself. One of the blades that Lucina had brought with her, not the one which seemed to always rest on her hip, was now in her hand. Unlike Cynthia who had just begun to train, or Lucina and Kjelle who seemed to always be in the midst of training, Severa never had training with anyone. Too young, ten years old was too young for the daughter of one of Ylisse's genius Pegasus knights to learn how to fight. She had been told her mother had picked up a spear at her age and seemed to use it like a master already.

And now she's dead… She thought bitterly as she pulled the sword out. She nearly collapsed at the action, it being slightly too long for her and the unexpected weight on one hand wasn't enough for her. She nearly collapsed but pushed herself to stand.

It was definitely heavier than she expected. How Lucina seemed to easily swing her blades around, with one hand especially, baffled her now with how she could barely onto the one with her two. Even more confusing was how the blade she held now was the smaller of the two.

Okay, swing and- "Ah!" Severa squeaked as she swung the blade and nearly fell over. However her foot was able to brace herself and she steadied herself once more. Looking around, she found that no one had decided to look at her, and she let out a sigh of relief. Trying again, this time making sure her legs where ready, she tried to swing the sword in an overhand motion. It felt a little off, especially when her elbow hit her own stomach.

Maybe if I move my hands… Severa moved her bottom hand, her left hand, closer to the end of the handle and swung it again. It felt easier now. She remembered how some of the soldiers in the castle would practice, most of the times against Lucina, and how they always did the same drills everyday. Bring the blade up, swing down. Blade up, swing down. Blade up, swing down.

By the time she did it fifteen times, her shoulders were already starting to get sore, and her hands were rubbed raw and shaking. She was panting, chest heaving before she finally, with difficulty, placed the sword back in the scabbard. By now the entirety of the gap had gotten back into the usual night watch and patrols, two tents set up specifically for the children. Already Cynthia and Kjelle were snoring soundly in one, and a large lump could be inferred to be Lucina before Severa collapsed into her space between the Princess and Kjelle.

Lucina however was not the lump which lay near her. Instead Lucina was still up and awake, had been awake since Severa first walked away from the camp and had observed the younger girl in silence. Now that she was gone, Lucina began inspect her own wounds. The arrow wound had been patched, but was still open. She had found a knife and put it in the dying embers of the fire and held a stick in her mouth.

She took a deep breath before she placed the hot blade against her flesh. Her vision went white for a second as she felt flesh sear shut. Where it not for the branch she clenched between her teeth, Lucina would have screamed in pain. Eventually her mind stopped being a hazy mess, her consciousness finding her slumped over on the ground.

Picking herself up, she let out a shaky breath as her fingers prodded over the now closed wound. Taking deep breaths, she rebanded her torso before finding a cloak to wrap around her body. The patrols were beginning to switch out now, but she didn't have it in her to go out this time. For once, sleep seemed to come easy for her.

**-1-**

Two and a half weeks of travel had gone by. Two and a half weeks of trekking through dangerous roads and seeing empty desserted villages. Two and a half weeks of having to avoid large Plegian forces and long sleepless nights in fear of a night time ambush.

Now they saw the true extent of Plegia's incursion into Ylisse. A northern city, a walled fortress known Fort Rutermark; Ylisse's north fortress and pinnacle of engineered defense against Plegia. It was the second largest city, Ylisstol being the first, and it was one of the most heavily defended locations. Even with the call to arms against Valm and Wahlhart, it could still easily repel most Plegian forces.

Now, an eerie gray mist seemed to hang over it ominously. Not a person wanted to go near it, as they saw what happened when a deer pranced too close. Its furious steps cleared the mist around it, to reveal… Other animals on the road, their corpses at the very least. Maggots, flies, insects scrounged their corpses, shearing fur away to reveal mush rather than meat, and yellowed bone. Not even carrion birds wished to peck their remains.

Fort Rutermark, a pinnacle of Ylissean defense, now a city full of the dead. Also home to the orphanage run by the Shepherds Tharja and Libra, as well as home to their daughter Noire.

"Why… Why did Plegia do this!" Kjelle seethed. Villagers found comfort with each other, holding as they cried and wept at the sight.

"Make camp outside the gates," Lucina said before she took a look at the gate which still stood shut. It was once a sight for grandeur and prestige, now it held unseen fears and dashed hopes. "The wounded will stay here, rest, and make camp; any volunteers to search for supplies in the city?"

It was to be expected than no one had any desire to see why Fort Rutermark lay silent, and most of the soldiers were either injured or too fatigued to move another inch. What was surprising was who raised their hands. Lucina saw that Kjelle and Cynthia had both raised their hands, but this was also followed by Laurent, Yarne, and Severa as well.

"C-Children shouldn't—"

"Do we look like children anymore?" Severa's abrasive tone cut the woman off. Everyone noted now how the girl still had the bloodied chipped blade which rested on her hip. It had come from a skirmish between a roving Plegian retinue and the caravan, one where they were able to locate a wagonload of food… As well as women and young girls.

The young girl of only thirteen now had been seen in the melee, killing a man in gory fashion. The man had his own arm lopped off in a previous clash of blades against Lucina, yet still survived long enough to see Severa trying to get one of the girls back behind a line of soldiers. She barely had enough time to scramble out of the way to avoid a desperate strike to her head. The man fell over, delirious from adrenaline and blood lost, and gave Severa just enough time to find a discarded axe, a severed arm still holding onto it before she brought the axe up and brought it down on the fallen Plegian's head. Again. And again. And again. And again, until his head became mush. She had stood there frozen before Lucina stepped in front of her, still in her battered form, to parry a sword strike and bury her own blade in the man's throat. Then the older girl had knocked the axe out of Severa's hands and shoved a sword instead.

"Fight or die, your choice," she grounded out before swinging her sword against another's. Even with one arm and injured to such an extent, there was an indominable battle fervor that rendered all disabilities mute to Lucina. Severa rushed right behind her, a look of anger and rage which mirrored the feral ferocity of the Princess.

"I wish to study the nature of the deceased…" Laurent stated as he readjusted his hat and glasses. "And Yarne wants to say that his beastform can easily carry large amounts of supplies if need be." The halfling nodded his head mutely. The adutls of the group still looked anxious, but Lucina nodded.

"Cynthia leave Marigold here, she's deserves a rest." The Pegasus knight pouted before giggling and hopping off her mount. The Pegasus nuzzled the girl's head before Cynthia gave her a fresh apple. She was lead away by other soldiers before the group of six children approached Fort Rutermark. The adult's watched their forms disappear into the mist.

"It smells…" Cynthia moaned as she covered her nose. Normally covering her nose and walking would have easily lead to the girl tripping, however the heignted sense of danger gave her plenty of coordination now. "What is that?"

"That would be rotting flesh," Laurent replied cooly as kept his eyes peeled. Yarne looked even more ill than before and held onto the back of his coat as they walked behind Kjelle's armored form. "And judging by the insanity… A lot of rotting flesh." A look of naseau crossed Cynthia's face before the sound of tearing was heard. Everyone turned to see Lucina cutting up bits of her cloak, now holding five strips of cloth.

"Wrap these around your noses, keep the smell out," she stated before they were quickly taken by the five. Once they arpppoached the gate, they saw that it was open enough for a single file to get through. This was evident partially by the fallen corpse which lay at the foot of the opening. It had no head and was bloated.

Laurent had taken the stick he had brought with him and pocked the body, it jiggled before liquid began to run out of the clothes and body. Maggots crawled out as flies raced out from the hole at the base of its throat were an arrow had pierced it.

Seeing this, Yarne tore the cloth over his mouth and vomited out this morning's breakfast of hard tack and sausage. Cynthia rubbed soothing circles on his back as Laurent continued to examine the body.

"The arrow wound… It was done post mortuem," he declared. Everyone grew tense at his statement. "Notice how no blood pools around the arrow wound cavity. The fletching of it also begin at the base of the spine, and not the throat, meaning he was also shot from behind."

"W-Who would kill Ylisse troops?" Kjelle gasped. No one spoke any word, and instead moved forward past the body once Yarne calmed down. More bodies littered the street, though not to the extent that they anticipated they'd see. They too also had arrow wounds, some even had wounds which seemed to have charred them from the inside out.

"This quandary gets more and more confounding…" Laurent mused. Severa finally snapped.

"Who cares about the stupid que—" She was silenced when Lucina shoved a hand over her mouth. She was about to bite it until she saw the cold restrained stare from the Princess.

"Be. Silent."

The damage was already done though. After Severa's loud exclamation, more and more noises began to be heard. The rustling of cloth. The clank of metal. The grinding of weapons on the cobble floor. And moans. Low, ominous, and unyielding moans.

A figure now began to be seen out of the mist. It seemed… Disjointed, irregular. Something was unsettling about it. Cynthia however threw caution to the wind and approached the figure.

"We though the city had- AH!" she screamed as soon as she got close enough to see the figure. At that moment, the figure also moved and raised its axe to strike her. Luckily she was able to raise her spear up and pierce its arm. Had this something normal, the person would have dropped their axe and cried in pain. Instead, the arm only paused before it began to slide down the length of the spear.

"Move!" Two voices shouted out before two forces rushed either side of Cynthia. One sword and one spear now assaulted the figure. One piercing through the throat, and the other lopping the arm which held the axe.

The axe would have hit Cynthia had not a gust of wind blew past her. She turned to see Laurent holding the book which he never seemed to part from, a tome for wind magic. He, Yarne, and Severa now rushed over to her, as Lucina and Kjelle held their weapons at the ready. Laurent moved to examine what in Naga's name had attacked Cynthia.

"This.. This shouldn't be possible," he breathed as he stepped back.

"What is it?" Kjelle growled out before noting that the sound of moans grew louder.

"I-It's a living corpse!" Laurent stared in absolute shock as the figure which had been cut down, it's throat pierced and body mangled, still tried to reach up and bite at him. It's skin an ashy purple, eyes glowing red with infernal hellfire. "S-Something like this defies life and death."

"If it's alive again," Lucina moved forward past Laurent and pluged her blade down into its face, blade sinking depe within. "It can die again." She pulled her blade out before raising her foot and smashing it into the head for good measure.

"G-Guys, I think the problem got worse…" Yarne moaned as they all turned forward. There in front of them now were more shambling living corpses. They numbered well into the hundreds. Almost a small army! "They're behind us too!" Indeed, they turned to see that a number of them had risen up, what they thought were the dead were now learned to be the living dead.

"There's too many fight!" Kjelle cried in a panic. They moved closer and closer to the six before Cynthia saw an opening.

"In here, quick!" She advised when she saw a building with an open door. It was a two-story building, a shop and residential home of some kind, but seemed defensible enough. The six quickly rushed into it, Lucina and Severa's blades quickly flashing out to deflect or cut off any of the corpses that got close.

Slamming the door shut behind them, they all grabbed bits of furniture inside the building to barricade the door and window.

"Wah!" Cynthia screamed when she saw a hand reach out and try to grab her from behind a door. "They're some in here!" Her spear was too large to properly use against indoors, and instead tried to kick at the corpse.

"The dead should stay dead!" Lucina snarled as her blade lopped off the arm before being plunged into the head of it. It let out a ghastly moan before she kicked it off, only to swing her blade again as another arrived.

"We're gonna die in here!" Yarne cried before he was grabbed by Kjelle and hauled up the flight of stairs that Lucina had cleared. Eventually they burst through the door to the roof, now with an elevated position, they saw how truly hopeless the situation seemed. Mob upon mob of deceased forms moaned and groaned, pushing against each other to enter the building they had fled to the top of.

"T-The people of Fort Rutermark…" Kjelle gasped. Every stared in horrified shock, not even Lucina could have come to terms with what she saw. Her eyes narrowed in anger, what sort of atrocities had been unleashed? What sort of unspeakable bargain with an accursed damnable monster made?

"We need move, now!" Lucina roused everyone from their stupor before pushing them towards the adjoining roof tops. Now they raced along the rooves, running as far away from the shambling mess as they could. Corpses behind them tried to follow, only for them to… Fall? Lucina stared with wide eyes as arrows flew past them and into the corpses behind.

"The archer!" Laurent exclaimed.

"Is that them?" Yarne pointed towards a person in a cloak, a bow in hand that was quickly letting loose arrows towards the corpses behind them. They however did not see one climb up the building from their behind until it was right upon them. A loud scream was heard as they fell down as the body raised the broken sword in its grip.

A blade soon sprouted out of its chest. The cloaked figure stared in wide eyes as the corpse barely recognized the blade which sprouted from its chest, yet that pause alone saved the archer. Lucina now was above them, both feet impacting the body from a flying kick. The creature skitted back before Lucina rolled forward atop of it and pulled out the sword before cleaving its head off in a swing.

She hacked and slashed the corpse even more than necessary before the others now helped the fallen archer up. The hood fell to reveal a young girl no older than Severa, light blond hair and green eyes stared up at them fearfully.

"Noire?" Cynthia gasped. The girl looked at all of them for a moment before breaking out into tears. She clung onto Kjelle, who now carried her as they all began to run once more. "You're alive, you're alive, you're—"

"Do you foolish mortals wish to court death now! Cease your prattle and run!" A dark and bold voice came from a normally soft spoken shy girl. Cynthia silenced her mouth in shock. Now seven, they ran and ran and ran and ran. The horde behind them grew smaller and smaller, until now they were not seen. However the ominous moans still echoed around the misty Fort Rutermark.

Noire had been released from Kjelle's hold and now stood on unsteady legs. Her bow back in her hands as she stared at all of them again. Then she broke down in silent sobs.

"I-I thought I'd never see anyone alive again…" she bawled. For a brief second, there was a small moment of happiness shared between them all. A small bit of warmth had flowed into Lucina's heart, and for once, it stayed there and abated the deep emptiness within. "I-I-I-I…" Noire sniffled before she looked up at everyone.

"Noire… What happened?"

"D-Death… So much death, and a fate worse than such…"

**-2-**

"M-Mother, P-Papa, what's wrong?"

"Don't worry Noire. Just stay with the children for now."

"F-Father? W-Why's mother bringing out h-her tomes?"

"It's alright Noire, just stay here with the children."

"P-Pa—" Something shook the very foundation of the orphanage, and the children gripped her legs tightly.

"It will be alright, just know we both love you Noire…"

"Papa!"

Noire let out a shrill scream that would have been prolonged had not a gloved hand stifled it. She stared with wide eyes at the Brand of the Exalt starring back at her. A single finger moved the hand that covered her mouth, "silence", to which Noire nodded her head timidly.

Lucina removed her hand as Noire now had her scream stifled. She looked around now, seeing that they were still at… Her… Home, the orphanage.

Lucina seemed to be the only one awake, the other five of her group and the ten other children which Noire had been taking care for the last two weeks were all asleep. Noire blinked when she saw Lucina pick the sword she had set down, resting the handle on her shoulder and using a rag to clean off the blood and gore on it. Once she put the rag away, a stone was brought out and began to run against the blade.

Noire never thought that talkative bright girl who introduce all the Shepherds children to each other would so easily cut through the risen dead without remorse, nor cling so closely to a sword. Noire also saw that within the holes and jagged slashes in her tunic, her torso was wrapped tightly in bandages.

"U-Uh… Lucina?" Noire's voice was barely above that of a small whisper, quitter than breathing almost. Yet in that silent room, filled with the steady breathing of others, Lucina still ceased her maintenance at the call of her name. "H-How long was I asleep for?"

"Four hours," Lucina replied before she reached into her cloak to pull out a small handful of bread. "After explaining the situation, you collapsed and had not woken since."

"T-The children—"

"Cynthia, Laurent, and I made sure they were fed." Noire let out a sigh of relief, before turning back to Lucina who had gone back to sharpening the blade. "What?"

"Y-Y-Y-You cooked?" Noire stammered. There was a tilt of Lucina's head at Noire's tone, and for a second, the timid girl thought she had overstepped her bounds. Even if they were friends, Lucina was still royalty. "M-My apologi—"

"I can cook…" Noire stopped her apology as she heard the small voice that Lucina spoke in. It sounded… So sad and insecure. A small part of Noire was so shocked at the discovery of this side of Lucina that she nearly screamed out. It was only because her friends began to stir did she stop herself from doing so.

"Is everyone up?" Kjelle's groggy voice was followed by Cynthia shooting up and stretching her back. Laurent let out a mumble before nuzzling closer to Yarne, who mumbled something about "survival" and "carrots" before being thumped on the nose by Kjelle.

"Y—" Lucina's hand slapped against his mouth before he got too loud. His ears quivered at the unnerving stare Lucina gave him before he nodded his head as she raised her finger over her mouth. "sorry…" Lucina moved her off of the boy before turning to the others.

"I went a while ago to survey the situation," Lucina stated softly. Laurent and Kjelle seemed very intrigued at her findings entailed. "The risen dead—"

"Risen." Everyone turned to look at Cynthia, who now looked sheepish. "Saying risen dead just sounds too long." She laughed as she rubbed the back of her head.

"The Risen outnumber far too much for us to combat head on, any attempts would result in a large force of overwhelming numbers which we are ill equipped to handle," Lucina continued after a slight shake of her head. An odd sense of déjà vu afflicting her. "The granaries and fort armory are still intact, yes Noire?"

"Mhm," Noire nodded. She felt slightly more confident now, no longer being alone to help the kids felt so nice. "I-I've taken very little of what was there."

"We should move at the crack of dawn then," Laurent added. "Judging from what you've told us Noire, the Risen, though deceased in all but name, use the same basic senses the living has, though to a drastically lesser degree. Nighttime is also their most active period." Lucina nodded solemnly.

"What about the children?" Cynthia inquired. Some of the sleeping children were awaking. Yarne tried to lull one back to sleep, but let out a nervous "yip" when the child bit his fingers. "What do we do with them?"

"Yarne, Laurent, can you lead them out to caravan quietly?" Laurent nodded. "It's settled then. Eat, rest, get your weapons ready, it'll be a while before we leave..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 14  
> Kjelle - 15  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 12  
> Nah - 11  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 10  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 13  
> Yarne - 12
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia  
> Kellam + Miriel  
> Cordelia


	8. The Hordes Cannot Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To beat demons, often one must open themselves to Hell's influence to do so... Of course, when Hell is unleashed, no one is sure the destruction it will wrought on its own...

" _Let's go!"_  Severa helped the kids onto Yarne's back. In his beast form, Yarne had a passing resemblance to his late mother in all but size, his form was significantly smaller. Even so, his size allowed him to carry all eight children on his back quietly without much trouble. Laurent would lead ahead, keeping an eye out for any Risen and his magic would help keep from them being seen.

This left the task of supply gathering to the girls. Hurrying along the roofs as quietly as they could, they caught glimpses of the risen slowly falling back down to their dormant state. Occasionally they would have to go down onto the streets, and it was often Lucina who went on ahead to take care of any Risen they encountered.

It was almost surreal how silent the Princess moved. Not even her swords at her side jostled enough to make a noise, and she had even she her boots to avoid making any unnecessary noise. Cloth wraps now covered her feet, allowing her to slide and still retain a grip when it came to scramble up buildings.

Even the way she silenced the Risen spoke volumes of Lucina's ability, much to everyone's amazement. The girl, dressed in little more than rags, wielding chipped marred swords, and skulking in shadows and scaling buildings like some sort of street urchin. She had brought out her shortened blade and kept it in a thief's grip, always ready to plunge into the neck of an unsuspecting Risen.

"Go," Lucina replied as she pulled her blade out of the Risen's neck. She gently let it down, not even allowing its fall to cause noise. She sheathed her blade before the five finally made it to the supply warehouse of Fort Rutermark. Their area of entry was from a window and rope that Noire had tied days prior when she last came in here, Severa climbing in first before helping Kjelle.

When they all entered the warehouse, they all stared in absolute shock at the amount of supplies in it. Food, medical supplies, weapons, it was all in the warehouse. Noire noted that the one crate where she had gotten her bow and arrows the first time she came here was still untouched, though now a fine filament of dust had settled on it.

"Grab weapons, armor, food, and medical supplies," Lucina motioned before she went over to observe a rack of swords. She grabbed one, inspect it before putting away. " _If only we could have brought more people…_ "

Severa hardly heard Lucina's words, instead took notice of an area of the warehouse devoted to textile. Intrigued, she went over to examine it, only to grow with glee as she saw what appeared to be a number of cute clothes. She supposed no one would mind if she were to change out of her ragged outfit…

"Kjelle, what are you doing?" Cynthia poked her head after securing a small pack of medical supplies and food from where Kjelle was. "Armor?"

"Yes, it seems like my old armor doesn't fit me as well—"

"It's because you've been eating a lot," Lucina passed by with several arms full of weapons in her arms without passing the two a second glance. Kjelle's jaw dropped while Cynthia did her best to not fall into rancorous laughter at the look of utter shock on the older girl's face. "Is everyone read—"

A loud thump was heard. Everyone froze as they heard the thump. The sound of bones cracking and low groaning was heard within the warehouse. Lucina was in mid step, holding an armful of weapons when one of them fell out of her hands, clattering on the ground and echoing like a pebble in a cavern. No one dared make a move, not a sound, only until a screech that engulfed the entire warehouse assaulted their senses, it was like a thousand nails being raked down a thousand glass pains. It intensity made them all collapse briefly before Lucina came upon the site origin of the screeching.

A shadow had fallen grotesque figure that had fallen from their own entrance into the warehouse. It was reforming itself, an amalgamation of black mass and red eyes with a sewn mouth on the fringe of breaking as the scream grew stronger. Lucina drew a blade and silenced it, burying the blade into its throat, but the damage was already done.

The moaning outside grew in number as the sound of footsteps echoed around them. Something slammed against the walls of the warehouse. The Risen had arrived.

"Grab the most essential supplies! Food! Medical supplies!" Lucina roared as the others began to rush around the warehouse. Kjelle had a large pack slung over her shoulders, her spear in one hand and moved to open the door, only to be flung back by a group of Risen bursting through when she moved the wood bar.

"They've taken the front door!" She shouted before her spear shot out to pierce the chest of two Risen. She looked to see Lucina descended upon the group, a new blade in her hand alongside the iron in her left, shearing through the enemy in short flicks of her wrist. Soon the Risen were nothing left but scattered limbs against a snarling Princess.

"Gather the others, we'll make a final push through! Fetch torches!" Lucina growled as she flicked her sword out to sever the arm of a Risen before twisting to avoid a spear and slamming her other blade through its head. "Move, now!"

Thwump. Lucina looked behind her to see that a Risen which tried to grab her had been shot. Her eyes flicked from where the arrow had flown to see Noire already knocking another arrow, though gone was the fearful timid look on her face. Now her face seemed to be overcome with a terrifying visage.

" **Blood and thunder!** " Noire roared before letting loose another arrow. Lucina noted how the arrow had a small purple flame lit on it. When she saw the arrow impact a Risen, the creature let out a strangled gasp before smoke emanated from its form and it crumpled. " **I shall render their flesh from their bodies!** " Lucina only quirked an eye before twisting to avoid a javelin being thrown at her. She dropped her new sword before pulling it out of the air and flinging it back at the Risen which threw it. It pierced through its chest, however it was not enough for it to fall. In a rage, she picked back up her other blade and threw it with all her might. It not only sheared through the Risen, but cleaved into the skull of the one behind it.

"What did that Risen do to you?" Lucina turned to see Cynthia and Kjelle approach her side, with Severa behind them, she noted that the youngest girl had some new clothes on as well. Noire followed close behind before Lucina drew another sword, a noble's rapier, before looking towards the mass of Risen that gathered.

"March o—" Lucina paused before a large creature bounded through the Risen, sending the mass that was about to grab them to the side. Those that were still able to avoid the mass were then blown away by a strong wind. Laurent stepped through as Yarne in his beastform bounded back into sight.

"The childer—"

"A Ylissean patrol arrived to help us, but a Plegian retinue has also arrived!" Laurent's voice was on the verge of panic as Lucina's own gaze narrowed. "They're forces are going to overwhelm our own!"

"Double time!" Then a devious trick, a dsastardly strategy, began to form in Lucina's mind. "Make as much noise as possible! Set fire to Fort Rutermark! We'll give the Plegians a taste of their own tactics!"

They all now rushed through Fort Rutermark, Lucina leading the charge with her blades flashing out besides her, cutting down any immediate Risen in front of her. Leaping over their fallen corpses, she used them as springboards before diving into the next one, her blades shearing its limbs and head from its body. Not even Yarne and Severa could keep up with her inhuman like vigor at the slaughter, nor continue despite the amount of injuries she accrued.

"She's like a demon…" Yarne warbled as he saw Lucina throw one of her blades into a Risen before tackling it and pulling back out as her other blade speared its face, never mind that the Risen's axe blade tried to bite at her shoulder. She put the handle of her iron blade in her mouth before pulling out a knife and throwing it into the face of another Risen on Kjelle's side, giving the girl enough time to knock it aside with her shield and smashing its face with her boot. "When did she change?"

"I don't think she ever changed…" Yarne turned to see Cynthia beside him, a somber look on her face as she kept her spear ready to protect the half-Taguel's flank. "Lucina always seemed so… Forced, when we were kids. Maybe this is what she's been holding back all this time?"

"A Princess being crazy? What else is new…" Both turned to see Severa heft her blade after lopping an arm off a Risen that drew too close. "She was always above us, in status, in abilities, it's sickening…" The three took one last glance at Lucina who had grabbed a Risen's body as a shield as archers now pelted it without any remorse, both the Risen and Lucina. Small cuts were made from the arrowheads which pushed through, but she continued without pause.

"The gate's just ahead!" Laurent shouted atop of Yarne. Lucina's grin was hidden as she threw the mangled Risen's body aside before sheathing her blades and rammed into the slightly ajar gate.

"Push forward without any mercy!" Lucina roared before the gates opened to reveal a large melee of Ylisse troops and Plegian bandits. Both parties turned to see Lucina rushing forward with blades in hands before leaping and sinking them both into the nearest Plegian with a smile of sadistic glee.

Behind her was both her friends, and now a large horde of Risen undead. Moans filling the air as everyone stared with abject horror.

"T-The creatures! They've been unleashed!" A Plegian screamed before Lucina's blades sliced through his throat. As they looked past, the eerie fog had now been replaced with a black dense fog, red glowing just beneath it. The Ylissean's gasped as they saw this, Fort Rutermark had been set aflame. "The Fort is in flames!" The Ylissean's cried.

Lucina didn't hear either of them, only the sound of her own blood in her ears as she gripped both her blades tightly. All that mattered was the fight, the slaughter, killing her enemies.

"Princess Lucina!" A voice called out to her, stirring her after her blades piercing through the armor of a Plegian sergeant. His surcoat was that of the noble house of Themis. "Princess Luc—" The Princess now sat upon his horse, bloody blades resting on her shoulder as she looked at him with cold unconflicted eyes.

"Speak later, order the troops to flee before we're overrun," Lucina replied before leaping off the horse to block a strike from a Plegian axeman. The man-at-arms from House Themis only looked shocked before raising his banner.

"R-Retreat! Gather the refugees and retreat!" The man-at-arms ordered. The Ylisse soldiers formed a perimeter around the refugees before moving back towards Ylisse lands. The Plegians tried to move against them, only to be assaulted on their flank by the Risen.

"Gtacha!" one of the Plegians screamed as his neck was bitten by a Risen.

"Devils! Demons! They're here!"

Screams grew in number, still able to be heard by the fleeing Ylisse force. Many looked fearful, or even horrified by the volume of such. Many however threw their glances to the herald of the Risen, the Princess who still gaze heatedly at the direction of where the battle had come from, her clothes and swords stills stained in blood and gore. When arrows flew towards them, intent on catching a few of their rear units, she leapt in front of them, taking the arrows into her arm.

She looked very much like her father at the end of second war against Plegian, only instead of a look of contempt, she unknowingly had a large ferocious look in her eyes. A demon, many though privately had taken possesion of a Pricess' body...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 14  
> Kjelle - 15  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 13  
> Nah - 11  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 10  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 13  
> Yarne - 12
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia  
> Kellam + Miriel  
> Cordelia  
> Maribelle + Vaike


	9. A Lull in the Heart, Is Worth All the Gold in the Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is peace? An end to hostilities? A cessation of conflict? A lack of hatred? If so, there shall never be peace. Man will find some way to quarrel with another. There shall always be hands ready to take up arms. And hatred... So many a time it infects man like a cancer, eating them away. What is peace then? An impossible ideal? A far-flung goal? A utopian dream? If peace simply meant a small respite where children could be happy and live without a care in the world, then that Peace will be just, but then a war for Peace will never be won.

Kjelle sat up in the bed and room that the interim Duke of Themis, the emotional Brady, had set up for them. She heard her joints pop at doing so, and felt more refreshed than she’s ever felt. Sleeping on an actual bed as opposed to a camp mat had been… Interesting to say the least for her, more comfortable yet there was a linger feeling in the back of her mind like she shouldn’t feel such comfort so far away from home.

She turned her head out of habit to check over the others. She was technically always the first to rise and made sure that everyone was accounted for here. Cynthia was now snoring softly, spread out over her bed almost to the point of falling off. Severa was breathing softly while wrapped up in her own blankets, and Noire was mumbling to herself while she slept.

She expected Lucina not to be in her bed as usual, the Princess always seeming to prefer a solitary sleeping arrangement than anything else, or simply would not be in her bed in the first place. It was to Kjelle’s complete surprise to see Lucina actually in her bed, though not sleeping in a conventional sense. She leaned against the wall where the bed was, shoulders wrapped with the cloth sheet with her iron blade still resting in besides her, undrawn but still ready to be so. In front of her of her was a worn book, Lucina was well known to having taken up reading in the castle’ library normally well into the night instead of sleeping in her quarters.

Her eyes were open slightly, yet the soft breathing from the girl was enough for Kjelle to tell if she was asleep. The spine being cracked open while still on her lap told Kjelle that Lucina had fallen asleep while reading it seemed.

_ She sleeps with her eyes open?  _ Kjelle thought with a look of surprise. Then the half-opened eyes widened fully as Lucina stirred, her hands first grabbing her blade before she threw off her sheets. Kjelle stared as she that Lucina hadn’t changed out of her travelling clothes.

“Oh, you’re awake as well,” Lucina stated when their eyes met. Kjelle stared with confusion before Lucina moved to tie the blade to her hip.

“Do you ever take the blade off?” Kjelle winced as she stepped off her bed. “Or even change?”

“No.” Lucina stripped off her outerwear to reveal the bandages of her injuries sustained almost three weeks ago. Her hands went to peel off the bandages to reveal how far the cuts and burns have healed and the more recent injuries as well. It seemed that the priest’s work did wonders for her.

_ To think Brady became a priest… _  Kjelle thought as she remembered seeing their noble friend stand at the gates to Castle Themis. He looked shock as Lucina stood before him, bloodied from her previously inflicted wounds before she collapsed from the blood loss.

The people of Castle Themis moved quick to treat her, shocked at the multitude of injuries that the Princess had suffered. Lacerations, abrasions, arrow wounds, burns, it was a miracle that the Princess could still be alive, let alone fight like a demon. And yet throughout all the treatments, the healing chants, she had never let go of the swords in her hands.

Lucina now padded back down the bandages across her body, a strange sense of familiarity at the feeling of them on her skin. They were almost like they own layer of clothes, a sort of underwear, but was also protective. A strange image came to her head, some sort of chain mail… “Mesh”, though it was more comparable to some sort of skimpy brassier.

Pulling on a blue tunic and a less tattered cloak, Lucina actually seemed to look like an actual Princess now. The only things marring the image was her unkempt rough looking hair, and her constant scowl and narrowed eyes. Also, the two swords which rested on her waist, but there would be no way to separate the girl from the swords.

A knock on the door was heard as the other girls began to wake up now. A maid poked her head in when Kjelle said “enter”. She looked shocked to see the two girls up, but quickly curtsied to the two of them.

“Miladies, breakfast is ready.” Lucina nodded, and the maid left as Cynthia, Noire, and Severa began to awake. Lucina noticed that Severa also slept with a sword, though it hugged tightly by her under the covers, it reminded Lucina of a child clutching a teddy bear… Or something else.

Lucina grimaced as the image in her head was blurry. Something with a dark skinned child, malnourished, in some sort of grass structure. That hollow feeling returned, that damnable feeling that she loathed, before she shook her head.

“Where are you doing?” Kjelle asked.

“Out.”

“Not to breakfast?”

“No.” One-word answers, Lucina knew they were rude, though not to the extent most others would find it, however those were all she could manage right now. If she spoke more words, she knew there’d be some sort of biting edge to them.

Castle Themis was in abundant activity. Constant movements of troops along the wall, civilians were crowded around the castle’s center, there was an air of unease. Lucina minded the tension but kept to herself enough that it seemed she easily made her way past all without them batting an eye.

She found an isolated part of the castle’s wall, overlooking farm plains. Carts and Ylisseans were moving along the road to the castle, and she found herself watching them with distant eyes. Her mind went back to the night in Castle Rutermark.

She wasn’t entirely honest to either Noire or anyone else when she said simply went to scout the area. She went out to scout back the area, but as well as kill Risen whenever she found. Her blades at something called a… Grapple hook, she made out of strange amalgamation of three meat hooks forged so their bases were one large mass of metal. A strong piece of rope looped over the handles like a noose, and suddenly she found herself moving through the city easier than any rogue or assassin.

It was exhilarating to her. The freedom, the thrill, the hunting of Risen, unawares of her attacks of their kind, it fueled her to do more and more, until her sword was soaked in their bloody gore and their purple miasma stained the very clothes she wore. It was all fun, as close to fun as she had felt into a long time before…

Two bodies, lay resting close together in an isolated alleyway after Lucina’s blade had cleaved the head of a risen that stood in front of it. The bodies themselves weren’t risen, but they were already beginning to deteriorate. Flies buzzing around them, while the wounds they had festered with maggots. One had arrows pinged into their abdomen, while another had a large gash that now looked as if it cleft their body in two.

Their features, wizened and dried as they were, were still able to recognize by Lucina. Long black ebon tresses and exotically beautiful features. High cheekbones, a small nose, tear tracks running down her face. The other, long flaxen hair that cascaded down his front. His hand gripping the other’s in a tight grip as his lips pressed to their temple. Both their eyes closed, but Lucina knew them. She knew them very closely. And she ran. She stopped then and there, rushing back towards the orphanage of Fort Rutermark, limbs oddly heavy and that intimate hollowness that came from back when she saw the Pegasus Magnolia come flying out and over the walls of castle Ylisse, it came back and seemed deeper than before. Hungrier, though she beat it back this time, like she did last time, and the time after that, she did not know when it would come back, nor would she able to rebuke it as easily as she did like she had done prior.

That hollowness grew, and it was abated when she returned back to the orphanage, now however… As she returned back to her people to the populated Castle Themis and its fief, to her citizens as the Princess of Ylisse, she felt dirtied. There was conflict within her. She knew that feeling such joy at senseless slaughter was wrong, yet another part of her said that feeling such slaughter, especially now where it seemed an apocalypse had been awakened on Ylisse, doesn’t matter. That nothing matters, and that nothing will matter. And a third, an ever-present part which lounged in the darkest and most hated parts of her mind whispered constantly.

_ You’re a useless full, who can never amount to anything. Anything you can do, anyone else can do. There’s nothing for you here!  _ **_ You are nothing! NOTHING! _ **

_ Kill them, or not. Render the flesh from them, seeing their innards spill out. What makes them tick? How much of their flesh can be taken off before they can no longer move?  _ **_ What makes them tick!? _ **

_ What you’re doing is wrong. You shouldn’t do this. They were once people, they don’t deserve this. They were your people! Your father would have protected them! What are you doing? A killer, that is what you are!  _ **_ A useless killer! _ **

A presence was felt by Lucina in her internal torment, and she whipped to a standing in a flurry of movement which someone as injured as she was should be able to do, pulling her blade out as she stared at the figure which held their hands up. Eyes narrowed stared back at eyes widened. The eyes that were narrowed widened with shock as she that her blade had stopped short of impaling itself into the throat of a young girl with fear filled green eyes and fiery orange hair in braids.

“Ah! Please don’t kill Annie! Annie did nothing wrong!” The girl cried in a strange accent. A thought went into Lucina’s mind, something like… Strange clothes and even stranger men squatting in something called “track suits”? Lucina quickly shoved her blade back into her scabbard, to which the girl, Annie, let out a breath of relief before facing the sour expression of Lucina.

“What are you doing?”

“A-Annie w-was told to fetch the Princess Lucina!” the girl responded. “Annie was wondering if you knew what Princess Lucina looked like?” Lucina’s eyebrow raised as she stared back at Annie. She saw that the girl wore cotte, stitched together by several different clothes. “What? Did Annie say something strange?”

“Mmm.” Lucina’s low hum of a response confused the girl even more before Lucina walked passed her.

“Wait! Tell Annie what “mmm” means Miss Jumpy!” The girl dogged after Lucina as she briskly kept her pace ahead of the younger girl. A rare sense of youth mirth came upon Lucina’s mind now, an odd sense that she had long faked when she was younger. “Ah! Miss, where are you going? Annie wants to know!”

Lucina did not respond, but instead kept moving in away which seemed to defy all manners of natural mores. She scaled up a tower, before swinging in to a room via window, leapt off a rampart only to fall gracefully into a hay bale, only to then walk through the keep’s kitchens while they were still cooking.

When she walked through the castle before, it was always kept in a low anonymity with everyone’s eyes skating over her, now she was walking to everyone’s full attention with a braided red headed girl with a strange accent following her like a lost out of breath puppy.

Breakfast had long since passed, and the castle was now a buzz of internal activity. Even the guests of Castle Themis were active, though most had yet to see their Princess this morning.

“Brady where is the castle’s li… Brar… Ry?” Laurent’s voice trailed off before stopping to halt to stare in bewilderment. There junior lord of Castle Themis turned to see why Laurent had grown quiet only to likewise have a slack jawed expression as Lucina passed by them, walking on her hands. A redheaded girl in braids running after her to no avail.

“W-Wait! Annie… Annie cannot keep up anymore…” The girl collapsed forward with a huff, breathing hard as Lucina turned on her palm to look at her with a raised eye. The barest hint of a smirk on her lips as walked back to look at Annie. “Y-You win! Y-You have bested Annie!” A weird sort of stuttering breathing was heard from Lucina’s direction, a sort of “mmm mmm mmm” as she still stood upon her hands.

“Princess Lucina!” The girl turned after flipping onto her feet to see that bannerman of other lords whom found refuge in Castle Themis approach them. “We have been looking everywhere for you!” She stares at them in an unimpressed state before Annie looked up to see Lucina leap above the men trying to behest her and sprint away. The men let out undignified groans before giving chase to the newly named Princess in Annie’s mind, however she latched onto one fact.

“A-Annie found Princess Lucina!” The girl deliriously proclaimed before collapsing as Cythia and Noire turned the corner.

“Rats, we missed it!”

“W-What did we miss?”

“I heard it! I heard Luci’s laughter!” Cynthia gushed. Noire only looked concerned before nervously laughing herself, wondering if Lucina laughing seemed so odd seeing as how natural she did it when she was younger.

_ “They shall never catch us!” _

_ “Princess Lucina!” _

_ “Wait! You must have an escort constantly around you!” _

_ “My Shepherds are all I need!” _

_ “Princess Lucina!” _

** -1- **

The sound of a lance piercing through the air and short tempered exhales was the only noise that Kjelle made as she stood in the practice grounds. Around her, soldiers whom were not patrolling near the fief or walking atop the battlements, were likewise in the midst of their own training.

If one were to compare however, the regiment Kjelle had set out for herself far exceeded the parameters which the castle garrison themselves were put under. Weights tied around her shoulder, numbering three stones, for each shoulder made her push harder and harder with every thrust of her lance, which itself was less a lance and more like a long shaft of dense metal, holding it out alone made her muscles cry out in pain.

“Hrah!” Another hard thrust of her lance before Kjelle with it drew back to prop against her shoulder as she took the weights off. Rolling her now stiff shoulders, she took a gander to the other side of the practice grounds, where she last saw Severa and Cynthia.

Mentally though, she scoffed at not seeing Yarne, Brady, or Laurent anywhere near the practice grounds. While Laurent and Brady had no real reason to be in the grounds other than perhaps fitness with the other young garrison soldiers, Yarne should have been amongst the others. Kjelle knew he did exercises every morning, but when she demanded he come to the grounds he made a startled scream of “but there are weapons there!” and bolted away.

Now she, Cynthia, and Severa were the girls whom spent their time in the main practice field. Noire had gone to check on the other children, and at that point, Kjelle felt too uncaring after Yarne to get to the other girl to at least practice firing her bow while under duress. Lucina had been accosted once more by the gathering of Lords of Ylisse to talk on how to regain their lands from Plegia.

They had been here for a fortnight now, and still discussions, strategize, and plans had been made no action actually taken to fight for their land. It was both frustrating and demoralizing to Kjelle, however at least her frustration was put into her training in the event that when they do act, she will not be left behind. Not again.

Cynthia road atop of Mangolia, lance in hand and eyes narrowed as she saw the small target. Cavalry on land, the Ylisse Knight, is all about preceision and smashing through the enemy. A spear which can pierce any form of defensive tactics by pure might and momentum. Pegasusu knights had the added benefit of coming in from the sky, striking from unanticipated angles, and Ylisse’ corp of Pegasus Knights were exemplary. What they lacked in pure ferocity and devastation like Wyvern riders of Valm and Plegia, the Pegasus Knights made up for in precision and speed.

Something Cynthia wanted to temper, like her mother had done.

_ Plink! _  Cynthia released the lance in her hand before urging Magnolia skyward once more. She casted a glance behind her to glimpse the lance had penetrated deep into the armored target. She had successfully maneuvered her tip over and past the shield, into the upper gaps of her target’s neck. She let out a whoop before she pulled a javelin from her saddle bag and began to dive down once again.

She threw five, hitting key areas on the mannequin beforehand scrambled to unlatch the secondary lance that was tied t Magnolia before it too penetrated the target’s guard. Deftly, her hand grasped the lance which she lodged previously and yanked it out before readying it once more. The process was repeated for Cynthia, over and over again, until she could almost instinctively know where to hold the couched lance to deliver maximum impact and damage. To break through the enemy, and those behind them.

The final child of the capitol refugee caravan, and the youngest one, now held a sword much larger than herself in two hands. There had been many attempts at trying to advise Severa that starting with a  smaller sword being best, but she turned her nose upwards and kept on using blades that were larger than her.

She held the large practice blade in her two hands, struggling always when holding it, but her handling was better despite her large obstacles. Though it was quite the humorous sight to the garrison, seeing a girl no older than thirteen wield a blade much larger than her. That humor quickly dissipated when she challenged one to a spar and quickly dispatched him.

The blade, though heavy for her, in her hands made it feel like a Warhammer against their guards. The man she had challenged, a twenty three year old  career garrison soldier, barely held his arms up before his practice blade was knocked out of his hands and he was sent careening to the side after a strike to his side.

After that, no one made anymore funny jokes or comments towards the girl’s choice of weapon size. Now she was easily swinging her large practice blade against the armored mannequin in almost a natural rhythem. Every strike brought back into a natural guard before it struck out once again, a low and thundering thud against the leather and iron padded mannequin. An overhead strike became a plow guard, a sweeping strike became a tall guard. A jab brought the blade back into a longpoint guard.

Annie stared with wide eyes at the girls. She marveled at them all, wondering how such women, at the youngest on year older than her and at the oldest four, could be so accomplished. It was like watching her father when he went out to practice while she and mother would man the cart.

“Why don’t you join them?” A low voice came from Annie’s side, making her scream initially. She turned to see the fourth girl from their group, Noire, look at her apologetically, flinching initially at her spike in volume.

“M-Me? Annie joining them? No, no, no! Papa said fighting should be left to those stronger!”

“What if you’re one of the stronger?” Noire supplied gently. Annie stared with wide eyes before Noire smiled gently, hands tentatively grabbing the other girl’s. “Kjelle can help, she’ll teach you the basics at the very least.” Annie only followed silently behind Noire, though her entire body was shaking with excitement.

Papa had promised to teach her after he and Mama came from the campaign against Valm. But… Then they never came bac. She was at Castle Themis because her family was friends with the Lady and Lord of Castle Themis, Lady Maribelle and Lord Vaike. She had merely stayed amongst the staff of Castle Themis, helping with delivering messages throughout the castle, aiding the castle staff with the odd task, and also dispatching secret documents to the other castle lords since she herself couldn’t read.

It seemed with the arrival of Princess Lucina caravan, it was surreal to know that the girl whom walked on her hands and dressed almost like a ruffian was the Princess, did her activities change. Now she was pushed out of the room for being a commoner, and many of discussions were always about the Princess.

Said Princess however was nothing like she expected. She thought she would be as snobbish and proper like the other ladies that were here, but Lucina was as rough and brash as Annie’s own father. Always dressed in her weird mishmash of armors and clothing, not the fine cloth of the aristocracy. And though many said that the Princess was standoffish, Annie found the older girl exciting to be around.

Watching Lucina with her sword was like watching a live performance of dancers or tumblers, the way she seemed to walk on air as she held her blades. And when Princess Lucina wasn’t practicing with her sword, Annie found out within the fortnight that she and refugees stayed her, that the Princess was a voracious reader, almost like the other boy her age Laurent.

Though while Laurent read books involving facts, historical documents, or books involving weird confusing things that made most other’s heads hurt, Princess Lucina read stories of old, fables, and stories of wonderful delight and fiction. It was almost a shocking revelation to the entire castle if anyone aside from the children who gathered around her believe it to be. Most people scoffed at the idea of a Princess, well most of the adults, read such unnecessary things.

But Annie herself saw the girl read, to the children whom came with her from Fort Rutermark that Noire would often take care of. She would read aloud a book about wonderous things to children and Annie when she came by, her normally flat tone taking an air of emotion to it that normally seemed non-existent through her as she read.

“K-Kjelle…” The older girl ceased wiping the sweat from her brow after taking a rest from her training to see Noire approach with that red haired girl whom followed Lucina like a long dog their first day at Castle Themis, and subsequently followed her even more afterwards. Kjelle had seen the mischievous smirk on Lucina’s face as Annie did her best to follow her, the nostalgia upon seeing it the first time reminding her of… Nicer times.

“What is it?” Kjelle asked quirking at eye grasping Noire’s coat tails. Noire flinched slightly, and Kjelle wished that Noire was better at handling people whom were the same age or older than her. She never saw Noire flinch whenever she was with the children.

“A-Annie here would like to learn how t-t-to fight,” Noire managed out. Kjelle looked surprised before her eyes went to Annie, the girl stood stock straight like a soldier on a line. Her height however made it look a little silly, as she was even shorter than Severa was at that age.

“Annie would like to learn how to fight!” she shouted. Kjelle stared a bit before laughing. Annie looked confused, but Kjelle waved that look off. The girl had enthusiasm at the very least. “Did Annie say something fu—”

“Oi shortstack, move it!” Annie squawked as Severa pushed past her to plop herself down next to Kjelle. Severa swiped a towel and began to rub her face as Annie fumed. When the towel moved off her eyes, Severa gave Annie a baleful eye. “Tch, what?”

“Rude!” Annie puffed. Severa’s eyes narrowed.

“Eh? What did you sa—” Severa was cut off with a shout of irritation when she felt the familiar feeling of something on the top of her head. She turned to see Cynthia atop Marigold giggling as she rode atop. “Will you  **stop** you overgrown pigeon!” The Pegasus neighed before Cynthia leapt off and lead her away.

“So, Annie, any particular weapon you wish to learn?” Kjelle had gotten Annie’s attention now. For a second, the girl had no idea what to say, and her face fell in shame at sudden realization. Learning how to learn how to fight, she had hoped for her Papa to teach her like he promised, but he and Mama… They were still not coming, and learning how to fight n and comparing herself to the older girls she felt fearful that she wouldn’t compare to them. That she was simply too soft or too weak to be like them, after the many stories of what they had done in their one month of travels alone. The world Princess Lucina and the other lived in seemed so far away, even if the door to enter it was right here.

“If you hesitate, then you might as well say no…” Annie screamed now as she felt a presence drop behind her. The other girls only rolled their eyes as Lucina stood behind Annie now, tall and still shrouded in her tattered blue cloak and weird amalgamation of armored clothes. Her two swords poking from her side as she looked down at Annie, the barest hint of a smirk on the Princess’ face. “Whatever you choose, choose and never look back.”

Now a bright smile overcame Annie’s face at Lucina’s words.

“Annie want to learn everything!” She stated proudly. Kjelle looked surprise before a strange sound was heard above. A soft stuttering of breathing, though it did not come from Noire, but the presebse behind Annie, from Princess Lucina.

Laughter. Laughter came from the normally enigmatic Princess Lucina, though soft, muted, and odd sounding, it was laughter none the less. Almost everyone stared in shock at the sound.

“What’s going on?” the girls looked above to see Yarne, Brady, and Laurent had walked out onto the inner castle battlements. Yarne’s ears were twitching. “What?”

“You three are doofuses for ruining the moment!” Severa screeched. That little stunt only caused Lucina to laugh even more, desperately trying to smother it behind her hand. All three of the other boy’s jaws dropped at the sight and sound while the other girls just berated them for being idiots. Only Annie looked confused, wondering why it was so strange?

Princess Lucina always seemed to laugh like this when she reads to the orphan children their sought after stories.

** -2- **

“We must all our efforts towards the King’s campaign against Valm—”

“A King whose leading forces against a force which we have no reason to fear retribution from—”

“Plegian are raiding our lands while we do nothing—”

“We have to sue for a Peace of some kind—”

“Peace? With Plegia! Bah, we should have slaughtered them all to the last man, woman, and child!”

“What of their reperations? Land, money? We have scarcely any of that left to give them!”

The droning of incessant arguments bored Lucina to no end. She knew that this very conversation was what was necessary in order to save the Kingdom, but all the lords and dukes of Ylisse did was argue and badger with one another.

Everyone had a say in the matter, and everyone disagreed with each other for the right way in which to act. Some people wanted to retreat back behind Feroxi lands, seeing refuge with Ylisse’s northern allies’ southern forces. Other wanted to mount a counterattack, recapturing the capitol and pushing forward from there. Others wanted to mount a counter offensive, sending their own separate campaign to raze and burn Plegia to the ground!

Lucina looked to her side and saw that Brady himself was also bored looking at the older men dance around the issue of the “proper course of action”. Eventually the men of the castle grew too full of another and adjourned the meeting, though some sent strange glances towards Lucina as she stared full of boredom ahead of her.

“Are Kjelle and Cynthia back?” she commented suddenly. Brady stirred from his own short nap before seeing Lucina look at him.

“Huh? Uh, yeah, they should be hear ‘bout now,” he mumbled. Lucina nodded before she stood up and smoothed down her dress. Though she did it with distaste, since apparently it wasn’t fit for a Princess of Ylisse to garb herself in chainmail and half destroyed tunic, now she had been forced to wear a regal blue gown, something which irked the girl immensely. They also said carrying a blade wouldn’t be right, however when they went to take off the shortened iron blade that seemed always to be secured on her hip, she grew… Violent at that.

Brady honestly wanted to laugh aloud when he saw that happen. He’d never seen noblemen run so fast or so far in his li—Wait, there was one such time, when his father had gone into mother’s room and quickly ran out with a laugh on his face. Bardy saw that his mother was seething red and using the parasol she always carried like a nightstick, trying to swing at father.

“Princess! Princess!” The moment they walked out of the room, Lucina was swarmed by children. Now it seemed the children numbered up to twenty-five now, notably from the surrounding countryside where Plegian forces had been… Met.

“Nnn?” Lucina hummed before her wrists were grabbed, however the small smile on her face as she was dragged by children told Brady that Lucina was missing “story time” with them. Brady watched them go, smiling himself. The mood of the children was always infectious, and simply seeing Lucina enjoying herself without a blade in hand was always a wonderful sight.

“Brady? The meeting has wrapped up already?” the young Duke of Themis turned to see Laurent behind him. The large mage’s hat flopping over his head before one of his hands raised to hold it up. “Where is Lucina?”

“The kids got her,” Brady snorted. Laurent himself had a small smile form before he readjusted his glasses. “Do ya know what sorta of books Lucina reads to ‘em?”

“I think she’s on page twenty-two of Roy and the Band of—” Laurent silenced himself when he realized what he was about to say. The damage was already done, and Brady couldn’t stop the grin on his face from widening.

“So, I guess you’ve been sitting with the other kids when she reads, huh?” Brady said. Laurent turned away with a huff, cheeks dusted red though and desperately trying to pull the wide brim of his hat over his face. “So what’s your favorite—”

“Shut up!” Laurent groaned as Brady now openly laughed. However, their amusement or disgruntlement towards each other had let them dull their senses. For behind them lay a presence which wished them immense bodily harm. Many times previously it could be argued for their health by said person, but a clerical study and a scholar do not find much necessity in what they had in store.

“Brady! Laurent!” Twin chills now ran down the boy’s spine at the gruff voice of a near Frederickian caliber of discipline. It was hard to believe that the calm and lackadaisical Stahl is her father. Both tried to run to no avail, as two strong grips on their shoulders ceased any attempt at retreat.

“I see you two are free,” Kjelle mused with a smile on her face. “That means you’re idle hands can be better put to better yourselves!” Despite their resistance, Kjelle dragged Brady and Laurent to the practice fields. To their horror the two had found that Yarne had also been roped in, having been dragged by his legs, kicking and crying, by an enthusiastic Cynthia and an annoyed Severa.

“No! No please!”

“Stop! Complaining!” Severa growled before she and Cynthia threw Yarne at Brady and Laurnent, who barely stopped themselves from being toppled over.

“I don’t wanna die~” Yarne warbled as he clung desperately to Brady in an attempt to hide himself from whatever “training” Kjelle had in store for them.

“You’re not gonna die you big baby,” Severa huffed. Laurent saw that the longsword on her hip was nowhere in sight, so at the very least being cleaved wouldn’t be how he died today. Being impaled on spears however seemed more than likely.

“Why are you even helping them?” Yarne cried. “You don’t even like practicing with others!”

“Yeah well…” Severa’s face soured as she crossed her arms. “Today’s a little special.”

“Huh?” All three boys look in confusion before turning at the sound of pattering feet. It was loud enough that Brady and Laurent could hear, but Yarne’s heightened hearing could tell who exactly was running towards them all. His fear only escalated further. “Oh, Gods please no, not them!”

The cheering of children was parallel to the main square gates being opened to reveal a small gaggle of children running around Princess Lucina, Annie ran alongside them with a child on top of her shoulders. The sight of Lucina being surrounded by children was amazing sight amplified even more when they saw that her ever present blades weren’t attached to her side, the sight of their lacking sending clear signs to everyone whom saw.

“Bunny-man!” Several of the children ran over and tackled the wiry Yarne, who only froze and paralyzed as he knocked off his feet. “Bunny-man!” They crawled and jumped atop him as he let out small yips of pain. Several others went to gaze and marvel at Marigold, asking Cynthia if they could pet the Pegasus.

“Ha, so the kids are comin out to play!” Brady smiled broadly before looking around. He noticed that there was a wide perimeter around him, no kids being anywhere near him and deciding to hide behind Kjelle or underneath Lucina’s cloak. He put the two togeth—“Oh come on!”

“Ah! Monster!” Lucina stated passively as she saw Brady’s misleading expression. “Everyone run from the monster!” The young Duke looked gave Lucina an incredulous look before Lucina mouthed, “chase them or die”. He understood immediately before snarling like a beast and chasing them. They all screamed, but their eyes were filled with excitement, as the clerical boy began to chase them.

“What are you doing?” A girl had approached Laurent, whom had taken it upon himself to try and sneak away by hiding in a bush. With tense shoulders, he turned to see a girl no more than seven look at him.

“… None of your bus—” Laurent froze as he felt something fly past his hat. He went pale as he reached above him to the wall he was against. There impaled into the wall was… An arrow… His eyes turned to see a woman in green on the ramparts, eyes blazing as two children stared in awe around her.

Laurent wisely turned to the girl, who now had multiple others around her, and did his best to smile at them.

“W-Would you all like to see something fascinating?” The children looked confused before Laurent reached into his robe to pull out a small vial of liquid and threw it up in the air. Muttering a smell, the vial exploded into a sudden blue light. The children stared wide eyed in awe at the spectacle in front of them.

Lucina stared fondly from a small shadow by a tree that grew in the courtyard. Yes, it seems that she found some sort of enjoyment from reading to the children previously. The inkling of this thought had first come to her upon the first night at Fort Rutermark. After she, Cynthia, and Laurent had made the children food; some already began to grow tired though some had been on the edge of nervousness at the morose and foreboding moans around.

A strange, not unlike the hollowness she normally felt but… Softer, had spread within in her before she spied a book at the corner of Noire’s orphanage home. An old picture book, his spine born and its title scratched out from many days of use. It was the book, “King Marth and the Emblem”. It was… A story her father had read to her once when she found herself much like them; scared, afraid, feeling vulnerable.

Her voice, stoic and firm, had somehow began to coax many to ease as she read the familiar tale. Many, who were wary of her at first, gathered closer to her, to her voice, as she read. Their eyes droopy and heads swaying before curling up before her. She had taken her cloak off then and draped it over them.

Since then, reading to the orphanage children had been able to stem the hollowness much like fighting, though if she were to compare it, it felt much better for her to read to them than fighting. Holding a book, holding a sword, they both felt equal in her hands, but for her heart and being there was key imperceptible differences that she felt.

“Princess Lucina!” She looked up to see Annie starring at her with a beaming look on her face. It was nice. This day was nice. The laughter of children, their smiling faces. She’d fight a hundred wars for these wonderful things. She'd fight and win them all if that is what it would take to maintain that smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 14  
> Kjelle - 15  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 13  
> Nah - 11  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 10  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 13  
> Yarne - 12  
> Annie - 11
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia  
> Kellam + Miriel  
> Cordelia  
> Maribelle + Vaike  
> Libra + Tharja


	10. Tearful Goodbyes and Suspicious Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Princess left with a crucial mission, and yet auspicoiusly it may all be for naught.

“Hyah! Hyah! Hy-wah!” Falling forward, Annie nearly fell onto her face had an arm not stopped her from falling. Lucina stared passively as she held her short practice blade in her other hand. Annie scrambled back to her feet after being stabilized by the Princess, flushing at her lack of coordination.

“Rest on the front half of your feet. Keep your guard leveled.” Lucina inspected her student as she stood up once more, blade being picked up off the ground. Annie did just that… Or as well as she could while panting and breathing hard.

A solid spar for almost an entire hour against the Princess, Annie being the only one to initiate attack. Lucina however didn’t even look fatigued or tired, breathing easy with her cloak still over her shoulders unruffled.

“Better. Keep hands loose. Don’t squeeze.”

“Yes Teacher. Thank you, Teacher,” The younger girl stated out of breath. Lucina only nodded before tossing her practice blade back on to the sword rack. Annie stared in open awe as the blade easily slid into the open space without jostling it.

Two and half weeks’ worth of training, three days spread within those two and half weeks with Princess Lucina alone, and still Annie stumbled over her feet. She thought being taught by Princess Lucina would be easier than training, easier at the very least than Miss Kjelle or studying with Mister Laurent.

She was wrong.

If Miss Kjelle’s training was like carrying goods to the market, then Miss Lucina’s training was like carrying goods to market, over a mountain, through a valley, while rain pours relentlessly the entire time. It was always tense, never resting, and made every second with the woman feel like an hour’s gone by in terms of effort alone.

Let alone the beyond strange training of practice with her off hand, on the highest ramparts where falling would lead to the death, or even under duress by fighting off the attacks from several other combatants. Princess Lucina made it look effortless, even regal while she was wearing her flowing dresses, cut short to just below her knees to allow freedom of her legs.

Today they fought in the dark, within Lucina’s personal training room, but a room without the windows open. No light at all, pitch black and darker than any natural night. Princess Lucina’s prowess in fighting was hardly inconvenienced by darkness, rather it seemed even more potent in its defense. For Annie, it was another hurdle that she gleefully would try to cross.

“Princess Lucina, a word from the lords.” A maid had approached the darkened room. Pushing open the door and letting a flood light enter. Annie let out a shout of surprise and pain as light seared into her eyes. Lucina covered one eye, a scowl deepening before it relaxed as her other eye trained on the maid. “They wish for your presence.” A mute nod from Lucina was given before the maid curtsied and left the two once more.

“Get those bruises checked over by Brady,” Lucina stated seeing Annie’s battered form. She didn’t stick to hear the girl’s reply, and instead walked out as Annie stood on unsteady legs. Like their previous sessions, after sitting for even a second, her body felt like jelly when she stood.

“Woah!” Annie looked up to see Cynthia peaking her head into the room. Beside her was Yarne, whom was his usual jittery self. “What happened here?”

“T-Training,” Annie managed to say as she stood up. Cynthia looked balefully at the many gouges in stonework.

“Live blades?”

“P-Princess Lucina didn’t use one.” Annie stood up once more before beginning to topple. Luckily for herm Cynthia was able to loop her arms under Annie’s and helped her stand. “Th-Thank you Miss Cynthia.” The older girl giggled before noting Yarne had yet to the enter the room.

“My gosh Yarne, Lucina isn’t in here now.” A look of sudden relief flooded the boy’s face before he yelped when he felt something grab his tail. He turned to see two children rush past him with a large wide brimmed hat in their hands.

“Get back here you miscreants!” Laurent hollered past as he sped by, not even caring to send a glance to the other three. Yarne only looked slightly mortified before Cynthia thumped him lightly on the back of the head. He turned with a wince before noting that Annie had fallen asleep in Cynthia’s arms.

“A little help?” she asked with a smile.

“Mmm…” Yarne let out a warble before nervously approaching the other side of Annie and helped share the weight of the girl across both their shoulders.

“W-Why is Lucina so harsh on her training?” Yarne asked nervously, ears flicking about and eyes darting to see if the Princess would appear out of nowhere again. “Were safe in a castle!”

“But there’s a war still going on.” Yarne was silenced after Cynthia somber comment. “She just wants us to be prepared.”

“For what?”

“I—Who knows?” Cynthia responded. The door to the girl’s shared sleeping quarters  was just in front of them, before it was slammed opened from the inside, almost catching three in the face. There trying to rush out of the room was Severa, a look of utter distaste on her face with half her hair in pig tails and another being braided. A large of crowd of children stood behind her as with their hands out stretched and smiles on their faces.

“You have to pick a style and go with it all the way! You can’t just change halfway through you brats!” The children only giggled before Yarne and Cynthia turned around and decided that depositing Annie in the girl’s room wouldn’t be the smartest option.

“But Miss Severa, you’re so pretty!”

Honesty and sincerity is a child’s greatest weapon, likewise both were Severa’s greatest rhetorical weakness. The girl began to sputter and grow red in the face, much to the amusement of Cynthia and Yarne.

While walking the corridors, the soft and floating notes of Brady on his violin was heard. A soft somber melody, not a real composition the boy studied, but something that he felt from his heart, and likewise the hearts of the nobles, debutantes, and guards whom stood by that listened. Brady’s strumming seemed to be getting more somber throughout the days, however after an insistent by one of the children, had tried to make it sound more positive. Now, without the children here to listen, he let his feeling flow unembedded.

Without them noticing, the two had walked with the still sleeping Annie into the castle chapel where Brady’s music emanated. He had his back turned and faced away from the alter, not out of disrespect, but so people didn’t see his tear stained face. The song he played though… It was a sad and sullen melody that charmed and beguiled the two.

“Maybe we should jus sit her here,” Yarne stated as they spotted an open pew. They gently placed the sleeping girl between them as they sat down, now beginning to feel tired at the day’s activities they did. Cynthia had cajoled Yarne into practicing sparring with her, on the account that she’d use a stick and not an actual practice spear. Then afterwards they had been roped into a very exciting game of tag with the children, before deciding to help out in the castle kitchens for lunch. Now with the midday beginning to descend and their stamina being exhausted themselves, fatigue began to set in their bodies.

They were so tired, they didn’t even notice Lucina herself walk into the small chapel, cloth shoes barely making a sound on the cobblestone tiles as she stared at the altar of Naga. She stopped once, to place her ragged cloak around them as a makeshift blanket before turning back foward. Her eyes bore deep into golden dragon’s crystalline eyes. Tomorrow, she and several other nobles would depart northwards towards a Feroxi delegation in order to get more troops and allies in order to retake Ylisse.

There was a foreboding feeling that settled in Lucina’s got at the thought, though going to Feroxi for aid was a good plan, why now and why was she needed. She would rather go out on another patrol of her lands to root out any Plegian forces within the area. Yes, Feroxi were allies and Lucina hoped that her cousin would be a part of the Feroxi delegation, but she knew her real call was fighting herself in this war and not to rally aid. Though, as she stared at the sleeping faces of Yarne, Cynthia, and Annie, she shook doubts off and straightened her shoulders.

 _Perhaps aid from Feroxi might better our situation…_ Lucina stared up as Brady finished his playing, though his back was still turned. She heard the soft sniffles of Brady’s post-playing tears and quietly walked up to him. Though everyone always seemed shock to see it, she knew how to comfort people in some regard.

She’d seen her father and Robin do it countless times, and she knew the basic motions. Stand close by, don’t say a word, let them breathe. It was much like holding a sword, Lucina equated it to such at least. Brady turned in and held Lucina close to him as she stood by silently. The new Duke of Themis wanted someone, anyone, to be around him if his parents were no longer going to be.

Eventually Brady left, sniffling but a thankful look on his face as he wiped the snot from his nose. Lucina nodded, some part of her knew what she did was pointless, namely that incessant pit of nothingness, but a recently learned part of her, the part that found joy in reading to kids and interacting with her flock, knew she did something right.

“Thanks,” Brady muttered before Lucina nodded before sitting down besides the now sleeping trio of Annie, Yarne, and Cynthia. Brady began to start playing once more, a slow tune, but one that sounded more uplifting than the last.

Lucina had not meant to fall asleep, however… It all felt so… Nice. Yes, nice, like before it all fell apart. Like when they were all younger, and though some where not here now, she knew that she would bring them all back.

It was why when she opened her eyes, she was only mildly surprised to find herself to have fallen asleep on the chapel pew, with a myriad of others around her making her chuckle mutely. Severa, strangely enough, was the one whom lay clutched to her, head on her lap and cloak wrapped around her as she lay across Kjelle’s lightly snoring form. Laurent’s hat was over his head, a book covering his face, and leaning on the shoulder of Brady who had his head tilted back and loudly snoring with Noire on his other side.

Lucina stared and could already picture Inigo, Owain, Nah, and Gerome likewise asleep amongst this menagerie of children… Yes, she was still child, Lucina came to realize. Fourteen, no wait, that doesn’t feel right. It had passed March when the incursion happened, now it was late April and…

 _I’m fifteen today_. Lucina thought with mild surprise before looking at everyone’s sleeping forms. She was about to stand and move, but it seemed that Severa’s arms were wrapped rather tightly around her midsection. She stared in wide eyes, before sighing and relaxing… Perhaps five more minutes wouldn’t hurt?

**-0-**

_There were some tearful goodbyes as Lucina stood near to the steed lent to her by one of the nobleman riding with her. She wore a thick riding cloak atop her ornate clothing, or as ornate as she let the castle maids make them with enough room for her own ease of movement. Rough leather breeches were worn underneath her dress, and to keep up appearances, she had forgone her blades, left in the keeping of a resolute Annie, who stood stock straight and had tears fall without trying to wipe them away as her hands were holding the older girl’s swords._

_“Are you sure you don’t need a vangua—” Cynthia was silenced by a look from Lucina, sighing unhappily before breaking into a cheeky grin and hugging the girl tightly. A look that could be described as endearing could be seen on the princess’ face, though maybe it was more akin to relief and collectedness. Besides the Pegasus knight was Kjelle, who stood always at the ready with the spear at her side._

_“I’ll stand watch until you return!” Kjelle saluted as she stood stock still. Lucina nodded, before turning to see Laurent and Yarne try to console a bawling Brady. Even as temporary as this, the young Duke of Themis still bawled so easily. She cuffed the back of his head to make him look up at her._

_“Keep the peace,” she stated simply before turning and mounting her horse. She sent a nod to Noire, who stood by with a pouting Severa before she, the Duke of Hub, and the Lord of Diomedon and Duke of Hub galloped off with their retinue. “Hyah!” The remaining nobles looked on, some with mixed emotions, at their fleeting Princess and her guard._

That had been more than a week ago now, Lucina and some lords of Ylisse had ridden up north to Feroxi to gather more support against the Plegian armies ravaging their lands. A ride north to the southernmost Feroxi settlement, the Longfort.

The others were left back at Castle Themis, training and awaiting the return of their Princess from her diplomatic mission. The nobles had insisted that Lucina’s shepherds not accompany her, as speed was paramount on their journey and though Cynthia was a Pegasus knight trainee by most standards, the experienced noblemen alone enunciated enough that they were capable of escorting the Princess to see her cousin in the north.

“But I don’t want to hold a sword!” Yarne cried as he held the practice blade in a shaky hand. Kjelle only rolled her eyes before doing a half-hearted swing at the half-taguel. For his part, Yarne avoided the strike namely by completely bending backwards to avoid it.

Say what most will about Yarne’s cowardly attitude, his physical fitness was paramount… When it came to running away!

Kjelle barely even flicked an eyebrow as the slow and shaky swing of Yarne’s own practice blade try to hit her body. She just flicked her practice staff down at the base, barely enough power put behind it, but the ear shattering shriek of the boy made it seem like a great hammer had descended near his head.

“Stop being so weak!” Severa shouted from the side crassly. Yarne turned towards her and whimpered before scampering to the side to avoid another jab by Kjelle. “Gods, Cynthia are you ready or what?”

“Hold on! I need to make sure my straps are on tight!” the girl replied before righting her boots. Then she turned back towards Severa, took one step, and promptly stepped atop her practice staff. Her arms flailed as she rolled atop the staff before her legs shot out from underneath her and she fell on her back.

Severa, and really the entirety of the auxiliary field, stared at the fallen girl as she sat up in a daze. Cynthia shook her confusion away before looking brightly at an exasperated Severa.

“Alright! Let’s practice!” the girl cheered before leveling her practice staff up. Severa only sighed and did the same with her practice blade before the sound of the wooden materials joined the chorus of the other practice bouts in the courtyard.

Annie stood watching with wide eyes, anxious to absorb all sorts of techniques and styles of the different fighters, the last lesson Lucina gave her to do. Or at least the younger girl tried to do. Annie had no idea what Princess Lucina meant by, “watch before you act without hesitation” or something like that.

 _Thwip. Thwip. Thwip._ The sound of a bow string colliding against the leather arm brace of someone was heard behind Annie. Like the others, Noire was also practicing, though archery tended to be a solitary activity, which she did not mind. _Thwip. Twip._

Annie turned to see that Noire had gotten two bullseyes, and a cluster of arrows sprinkled around it, however was still within hands of each other. Her eyes went to Noire once more, who’s normally callow eyes were narrowed and her normally frowning face set in deep concentration. She let loose the arrow… Only for it to sail overhead of the target and—

“Ah!” Laurent nearly screamed as an arrow punctured through his hat and took it off his head. He stared with eyed and in utter shock at Noire, who began to cry out apologies to the mage.

“Where are you even aiming?! I am nowhere near the archery range!” Laurent stared incredulously as Noire let out a string of apologies. Annie walked away now, hands in front of her before she sat in the shadow of a tree within in the auxiliary field. She once again stared at everyone, like Princess Lucina advised her to try to do.

Without the Princess here, the normal timeslots allotted for sparring with the Princess was now void and Annie found herself without a thing to do. Sometimes Miss Lucina’s companions would spare with her, as they did continue their lessons with her, however she too saw that they were anxious to hear word of Princess Lucina and so more often than naught had not the concentration to a fruitful spar with a still fledgling soldier like herself. Regardless reading and letters with Brady and Laurent, strength with Kjelle, weapons with Cynthia and Severa, running with Yarne where still things she greatly enjoyed, but she enjoyed the Princess’ sessions significantly more. Albeit, she always lost in those bouts, but the idea of losing didn’t deter her. Everyone who fought Princess Lucina always lost, even if Princess Lucina didn’t win it did not mean her opponent won either.

When Miss Kjelle told Annie that when she saw Princess Lucina fight against several seasoned knights in the garrison. It was common knowledge at the time that one on one sparring against the Princess wouldn’t amount to any actual strain or results for her, so with much reluctance, the garrisoned soldiers began to have bouts were several of them tried to mass attack the Princess. She could fight three soldiers on her own comfortably, practice blades taking swipes and slaps off the men who tried to keep up with her, but even when fighting four, five, or even six other soldiers, it was hard fought battle even for them.

_“The Princess just doesn’t fight fair,” one knight would grumble as he nursed a slapped cheek and several bruises on his hands and arms. Others were less fortunate, split skin or even dragging cuts from a wooden blade that sliced too fast._

_Princess Lucina stood to the side, eyes narrowed and hands holding the practice blades in her hand, not too strongly and yet not too loosely as well. She heaved as she stretched her arms, barely showing if the damage done to her had even affected her. It was only counted a “loss” for her if they restrained her arms, legs, and disarmed her._

_The knights had disarmed one of her swords, and trapped both her legs before she scrambled free and struck back, making them rush back before the overseer of the bout called time and let everyone rest. It had been the closest to defeating the Princess as they got… But even so, it was not a total victory._

_Maybe they’d let me fight multiple people like her?_ Annie thought as she stared haplessly at the bouts in front of her. She looked at the two swords that the Princess had left in her care. One was a blade that the Princess held almost religiously, the short blade which rested on her side, and from Miss Kjelle and Miss Cynthia had told her, gifted to her by her “teacher” of sorts. The second was actually her own sword now, as Princess Lucina had said in a note left tied to the scabbard.

A modest length blade, forged steel and that meant that Lucina had gotten it made from either the castle blacksmith (not very likely) or had salvaged it from a skirmish against Plegian scouts and refurbished it in secret (more likely). It was heavier than what Annie expected of an actual live blade. She tied the scabbard to her side and slid the blade out, in a single smooth motion like she saw Princess Lucina do.

The weight at the end made her arm strain a little as she held it, before she swung it experimentally. It dipped a little, she felt her forearms strain swinging it with one arm like Princess Lucina does, so she gripped it with two hands now. Another swing, a horizontal slash that felt more comfortable than the last swing, but not as fast or as stable as she liked it.

“What a pretty flower like you doing in the shadows?” Annie nearly let out a screech of shock as she felt a suave voice flutter past her ear. She turned all of a sudden, swinging instinctively with her blade at the person. She would cut him, had the speaker not hastily backpaddled away from the slash, his steps light and graceful, though his arms swinging around in shock made the feat look less impressive.

“Ah, normally when a lady doth not respond well to my approaches, she only slaps or heckles back with her friends, this flower however holds thorns.” Annie stared at the person speaking to her.

Standing taller than her, which is a feat of itself, but with a face that only seemed marginally older than her own. He was dressed rather warmly for the weather, thick furs around his neck and sleeves, with a steel buckler on his arm and a sword, not unlike Annie’s own, resting upon his side. Several people stood behind the lad, some his age but most were older and of a gruffer barring.

Annie then noted she had sat in the shadow of the main gate of the keep, which had been opened without her knowing. A traveler’s caravan had entered, a standard raised and held by several armored men alongside several other carts and wagons of assorted things.

“Um, who are you people?” Annie found herself asking. The speaker sent her a smile, to which she did feel flustered at seeing. He was, admittedly, good looking though his speech was much too flowery for her to like.

“We are the retinue and escort of Prince—”

“Salutations young champion of Justice!” A booming voice shocked both Annie and the person speaking to her. They both turned to see a tall youth in a flaxen tunic and furred ensemble approach them with a wide grin. “It is I, the barer of the noble lin—” This speaker was cut short as the cape he wore was snagged underneath his foot and he fell face forward. Annie and the other boy stared wide eyed, as the other stood up once more without even a hint of shame on his face.

“I am Prince Owain of Renga Ferox!” He finished proudly. Annie had no idea how to respond to that, her mind trying to remember if there was a “Prince Owain” of Renga Ferox, only for the shout of a “call to arms” was heard higher in the ramparts.

Annie and the others of Prince Owain’s party soon found themselves starring down the face of several pikes. Annie, Owain, and the third boy as well as the two boy’s travelling companions looked wide eyed at the pikes.

“State your name and business!” A rough shout was heard from the head castle guard, who’s glare was very apparent and aimed towards the young blond lord from Renga Ferox. Annie stared wide eyed at the guard’s sudden flurry of armor and weapons.

The pointed spears glisted as the envoy of Renga Ferox took up arms in defense. Axes and swords with large thick shields. Annie stood in the center of this standoff, completely caught off guard and starring wide eyed around her.

“Who are you!”

“Allies!”

“Lies! Lies!”

Shouts and commotion rang out through the entire courtyard between the guards and the caravan. She stood now, clutching her blades fearfully as she stared between men who flew under a banner she knew well, against banners that fluttered just out of her comprehension.

“Wait a minute- Owain? Inigo!” Annie turned to see the rather iconic chicken plume like hairstyle of Duke Brady, within the dense defensive encirclement. He pushed forward with a pointed glare and harsh command before now standing alongside Annie as she stood between the two.

“Brady?” The flirting one questioned.

“Stand down! Stand down! Everyone, stand down!” Brady waved his arms as Princess Lucina’s shepherds began to push forward. “This is Princess Owain and his trusted retainer Inigo of Renga Ferox! Everyone put your weapons down!” At last, after greetings from the others and harsh commands from Kjelle, the other guards began to lower their weapons after seeing Brady embrace Inigo and Owain. Annie stared in confusion in the middle of them all, wondering the rather tight knit group had with these strangers.

“What are you guys doing here so fast? Is Lucina close behind?” Cynthia asked. A look of confusion however now crossed the two boys’ faces.

“What do you mean? Is Little Lucina not here?” Inigo questioned. Owain shared his sentiment.

“We sent a message ahead of us, nearly a fortnight ago about how our delegation of justice would mee—” Inigo elbowed Owain roughly and the older boy yelped. “Fine. We had a message be sent by hawk a fortnight ago about how Renga Ferox would be sending us to help in the Plegian invasion.”

“That’s not right,” Brady countered. “We were told to meet the Feroxi envoy at the Longfort.”

“Luci left, like, a week ago already,” Cynthia voiced. “We had a tearful goodbye and everything. We even sent you guys a messenger hawk as well.”

“We’ve never received a hawk or message of any kind about your arrival. We did get a message from another Duke that we should meet at Castle Themis from the Longfort,” Owain pondered.

“Did you take the main roads or did you go around the mountain passes?” Laurent asked.

“We went through the main roads. Our forward scouts have found that the Plegian presence along the main roads are less prevalent. A few skirmishes with our larger force in your province of the Dreadmarsh, but Feroxi presence had made itself apparent to their forces.” A forlorn look overcame Inigo’s eyes and his hands gripped the blade along his side. “Many refugees are taking refuge at the Longfort currently. Many northern towns are deserted… or razed.”

“Well… Perhaps this has been a major case of miscommunication…” Laurent’s face did not match his words, as a troubled expression took root.

“Regardless! Your party has been traveling for a long time,” Brady stated. “Food, rest, the castle will easily take you all for as long as until Lucina returns!” The entirety of the Renga Ferox party, though hardened warriors judging by their looks, looked relieved at the thought of actual beds for once. “We can talk more inside!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 15  
> Kjelle - 16  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 13  
> Nah - 12  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 11  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 14  
> Yarne - 12  
> Annie - 11
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia  
> Kellam + Miriel  
> Cordelia  
> Maribelle + Vaike  
> Libra + Tharja
> 
>  
> 
> [Author's Note: I'm well aware that it's been quite a while since this fic has been updated. I would hope people still hold interest in this, and I shall make a vague promise that I will try to update this more frequently. I apologize if this promise turns out to be false, as I am someone who's enthusiasm and love for writing wanes and withers depending on my own mood... I have also been busy with other hobbies, so I shall apologize once more and sound even more pretenious as I remark my own preteniousness. Thank you for everyone who's made it thus far and waited.]


	11. Startling Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old friends being reunited, but still more are left in the wind. A fierce battle that brings dark tidings, and miscomunnication begins to take its toll...

He had to move fast, he needed to hurry. He didn't know how long he could keep himself on his feet, the arrow in his shoulder now no longer hurt, and that terrified him. He knew that taking the arrow out would hasten his death, but keeping it in would be worse.

 

However he could not take the time to properly treat himself. No, he had to return. His horse was just in as bad a shape as he was, bleeding from its flank, heaving in exhaustion. It would not last long, much like himself. But if they were to die, then let it be for this. Let it be because of this.

 

They needed to know. They needed to learn of what transpired, a greatest crime had been committed. They…

 

He grew faint now, his vision growing dim and grip slackening. He was…. He couldn't keep his eyes open, nor keep his body straight. Breathing hurt, but NO! He could not die yet.

 

He ground his teeth as he wrapped the riding bridle along his wrists, slipping his calves into the riding stirups to his side.

 

"Please, Ermes… Please, get us to… Castle Themis. Please… Even if we die, our duty…" His voice trailed off as the horse continue to push forward, even as the rider gripped its neck ever so securely. Behind them both, as if being tethered to them, the dark clouds followed.

 

**-1-**

 

"I must apologize, but what?" Inigo and Owain stared at the others, though their primary focus was Laurent as he was the one who told them. "Lucina, the smiling, happy, excitable girl that we used to follow when we were children has been doing what?"

 

"Fighting non-stop."

 

"Scarier than a hungry wavern!"

 

"Works harder than any other soldier in Ylisse."

 

"Sleeps very little, eats even less, drinks more than anyone."

 

"Uses two swords with very deadly efficiency that she can easily fight five armed men for a prolonged period of time before even beginning to tire."

 

"The best teacher!"

 

Owain and Inigo stared in varying degrees of confusion, Owain due to the fact that his cousin seemed to better at the sword than he was, and Inigo… well mostly because he wondered how the girl who approached him first all those years ago would still be as cute was she did all those years ago.

 

After a formal apology from the nobles and guards of Castle Themis, the caravan from Renga Ferox has been brought inside. Supplies from the North, namely food, weapons, armor, and other such was a welcome sight to the Ylissean troops. And while many of the Renga Ferox soldiers retreated into the barracks for rest, the young Prince and his retainer were brought into the Castle Themis study to catch up with their old friends and guest.

 

"Have you heard from Nah or Gerome?" Kjelle asked. Inigo shook his head.

 

"No, any attempts at learning where they were have come up null. Though Lady Minerva had went to support King Chrom, Sir Gaius had taken Gerome elsewhere, whilst Sir Ricken and Lady Nowi seemed to have completely disappeared along with Nah." Troubled expressions crossed everyone's faces, sans Annie whom had no idea who most of the people were that were being spoken off.

 

"This is troubling news…" Laurent muttered before being pulled into a headlock by Owain.

 

"Worry not you stalwart gloomer, tis no trouble for our compatriots! Fore they will surely rise and show their greatness!" Owain gleefully stated with a wide smile. At least until Laurent's eyes twitched and kneeled his elbow into the young Prince's side.

 

"Must you continue to add unnecessary adage of language into your vernacular," he sighed. Owain only grinned.

 

"The Justice Cabal is almost all together now!" Cynthia smiled. Owain shared her enthusiasm at their old group title, it was admittedly much more original than "Lucina's future shepherds". There was a collective agreement that it would be nice for everyone to see one another again.

 

"We'll even have a new member!" Cynthia thrusted Annie forward now, making her stand at the inspection of Owain and Inigo. She froze slightly, starring at the Prince and his retainer. Inigo for his part kept a charming smile on his face, while Owain seemed to be in deep concentration.

 

"Hmmm, yes, a wonderous recruit to our merry band of heroes and justiciars!" Owain stated with affirmation. There was a small muttering of "rambling knave" by someone off to the side, however Annie felt a smile grow on her face at the idea of being a group which sought to protect and being led by Princess Lucina.

 

"We shall celebra—"

 

Owain was cut short upon the sound of shouting throughout the castle. Despite the night's once calmness, the entire castle moved into an uproar. Shouting came from outside, and the occupants of the room were not strangers to a reason for an uproar. A Plegian skirmish, patrol, a force of some kind was outside the walls, and the defenders of Castle Themis needed to rally forth.

 

Already those inside the room where rearming themselves. Kjelle would take the longest with her armor, however Noire's needed only to string her bow, while Severa and Laurent always had their weapons on hand as they burst through the door and lead the charge to the ramparts.

 

Already the sounds of men shouting along the walls and archers quickly setting themselves on the ramparts. Torches were being lit as the sound of horse were heard in the distance.

 

"Rally the men! We have a lone rider with Ylisse colors moving towards us! One Ylisse rider, the rest are Plegian!" the Captain of the Guard's voice soared over the chaos within the keep. "Show no mercy!"

 

"Is it like this every night? Or have taken a particular special day?" Inigo questioned Cynthia. She rolled her eyes before mounting Magnolia. Inigo looked wide eyed at how easily the girl who once complained about scratching her knees when they were younger ride atop a winged war horse.

 

"Usually we don't have our own come running towards us. Castle Themis has always rallied out to help any of the villages in the vicinity with patrols," she said. She eyed Inigo and giggled. "Need a lift?"

 

"Well by one as beautiful as yours—" He didn't get to finish his statement before Cynthia hauled him atop of Magnolia. He found himself sitting in the saddle before the Pegasus began to sprint forward and kick off the ground, its great wings buffering the air like mini whirlwinds.

 

"Inigo, you're holding a little tightly," Cynthia shouted over the winds, noting how tightly her friend was holding her midsection.

 

"I'm not letting go until we reach the ground again!" he shouted with an unexpectantly high voice. Cynthia turned around to see that the boy had his eyes closed and teeth ground shut. For some reason a sadistic thought came to her mind.

 

"You better hold on then," she sang as Magnolia stalled in the air just above where the Plegian and Ylisse forces met.

 

"W-What do you me—AH!" The Pegsus that stalled in the air now began a steep dive back towards the Earth, her rider had a gleeful smile on her face as her speared leveled in front of them. Inigo though only stared wide eyed and screamed as they descended at harrowing speed.

 

Kjelle stared up from the melee she was in as a descending shape came from the darkened sky. She smiled as she heard a high-pitched noise that could only be described as screaming grow louder as the shape descended.

 

"Kill all the Ylis—" The leader of the Plegian force was cut short as solid pressure hit the front of his breastplate, piercing through it and shearing through his ribs and eviscerating his lung. He was lifted up and off into the air. The Plegian commander grasped the lance which pierced through his chest weaky before sputtering out a cough of blood.

 

Cynthia flicked her wrist with a grimace, the bloodied face of this man was going to haunt her, like the many others. However, she did her best to not hesitate now, and instead turned back to Inigo.

 

"You ready yet?" He stared at her wide eyed before he shook his head and took a deep breathe. He nodded before Cynthia turned Magnolia back around once more. This time there was some Plegian archers ready to intercept their flight, though they did not expect there to be another rider on the Pegasus saddle. Inigo held his shield out in front of both mount and rider, while his offhand fished within the pouches along his belt. The wrist flicked out several times, heralding the archer's cries of pain as knives sprouted on their hands and arms. Luckily their discomfort would be alleviated quickly, whether by lance or by blade as the Pegasus riding unit flashed by them.

 

"Push! Them! Back!" Kjelle roared over the chaos of men and beast as her massive shield became the wall in which the Plegian cavalry attempted in vain to bash themselves against. One horseman thought he could break her defense, she was only a foot soldier, a woman at that! If the Ylisseans are fielding women in their infantry, then—

 

He let out a shocked curse as he found both himself and his mount pushing against the shield to no avail. It came too late for him upon realizing the futility of his situation.

 

The sound of a horse being skewered by pikes was heard as both it and the rider were rendered as Ylissean forces rallied beside Kjelle's shield wall. The sound of a sword being shattered caught Kjelle's ears and she flickered her eyes to the side to see Severa alongside Owain as they fought back Plegian troops alongside the other Ylisse soldiers. Severa's massive blade easily breaking through the chipped blades that the Plegian soldiers wielded.

 

Severa had very few combat experiences outside of sparring and training. In terms of swordsmen whom were sent out in the skirmishes into the plegian controlled Ylisse land, Lucina would be the prime candinate to be sent, not only because of rank but also due to the Princess' pure skill as well. Every time she would leave the castle in cleaned clothes and a washed face, she would return covered in sweat, dirt, mud, and blood. Yet the Princess' back would always remain proud and tall, unbroken even against what limited horrors that Severa herself had seen the rare times she would be sent out. Her confidence was easily shaken, despite her boastful airs, and she knew at the very least the commanders of the ragtag Ylissean force knew that, and she also knew that Lucina knew that, however while the former would give her a look of dubious intent at her skills, the latter would look to her with a look of expectation.

 

That alone gave her mixed feelings, as her hatred for what Lucina's family did to her own still remains to this day. Yet, those feelings are being rivalled by her admiration for the older girl. For even after Severa spouted hateful things to her, hit her, hurt her, the Princess had never responded in the manner she did, instead it was always with large empty eyes and a stern frown on her face. Eyes that spoke of such empthay and understanding that made every strike Severa gave Lucina hurt Severa three times more.

 

"Hey, watch out!" She looked back up as Owain's blade shot out in front of her, parrying a strike aimed towards her head before kicking the man away and slicing the fingers. A pained scream came from the Plegian before Owain rammed his blade through the gaps in the armor. "Don't hesitate now!"

 

_"No hesitation."_

 

"Shirah!" Owain felt a jolt run through him at the fearsome cry. He stared in absolute shock as a Plegian was sheared hip to shoulder from the massive blade Severa carried. A snarled look on the silver haired girl's features as she continued to swing the behemoth of a blade and hewed through the cloth and iron plated armor of the Plegians.

 

"Retreat! Retre—" The Plegian's second in command didn't get to speak much more as arrows tore through his throat, another through his shoulder, and a third pierced through his helm. Noire stood from atop the ramparts with an arrow nocked once more in her bow, eyes looking tentatively at the dwindling melee.

 

Those Plegians soldiers fortunate enough to throw down their weapons in surrender where all that were left, the rest either scattered back towards their forces, or slain. The Ylissean forces however were not unscathed despite the rather ferocious aid given by Feroxi forces, at least twenty of the one hundred readily prepared guards from the castles were wounded to varying degrees, and ten were either dead or dying. The Ylissean rider that the force was sent to protect was also mortally wounded, much to Brady's dimsay when he located the man whom hid beneath his dead mount.

 

Lifting up the man's jerkin, Brady cursed under his breath as he saw the arrow wound. The area around the wound was a sickly greenish hue, with boils with oozing pus squirting out. The man's temperature was scalding to the touch, but there was look of grim determination in his milky eyes.

 

"I… I have… Message." The man blindly grabbed around him before Brady's gloved hands were gripped in his.

 

"Speak, I am the Lord of Themis, Duke Brady, speak and know that your message will be heard." A look of relief spread on the man's face as he spoke in a broken fevered whisper. Brady had to lean in close to hear the man, his words were barely above a whisper. The words he spoke however were heavier than a thousand irons upon his back.

 

The night's air was cold, but as the man's final breath was made, Brady knew his body was that of ice. Chilled sweat coated his entire body as he desperately tried to keep his face from betraying his thoughts as his Inigo came breezily towards him, a strange gait in his step after hopping of Cynthia's mount.

 

"Did we save the messenger there Brady or—" Inigo was stifled to a silence as a hard grip held his sleeve. Brady stared at him with wide eyes and spoke in a hushed tone. "Get our friends and have them all meet me in chambers… We have traitors in Ylissean ranks."

 

**-2-**

 

The Brady's chambers were a peculiar sight. They were the central chambers of the ruling Lords and Ladies of Themis, passed down since the conception of the Ylissean royal family, making House Themis one of the oldest families in the entire land, and would make them wealthy in comparison to the other lords had once the late old Lord Martinique Themis was sentenced to treason for conspiring against the crown to usurp the Late Exalt Lucis and once he had passed the late Exalt Emmeryn.

 

Once proud tapestries and artworks replaced with bare walls, however there was still life left in this room from the last lord and lady of the room. A large axe mounted to a wall, a beautiful picture of a serene landscape with laughing people at a waterfront. The proud banner of the Ylisse royal line besides the banner of House Themis. Sheet music was pasted to the room, Brady's own personal touch that gave him no joy now as he waited for his friends to arrive.

 

Owain had already sat besides him, after being told by Inigo to stay with the Priest under the guise of "talking between lords and friends first", but more of a safeguard against… The conspiracy that had been brought to light to them.

 

"What's taking them…" Brady did his best to keep his tone from turning into his usual guttural growls, fearful of ears within walls.

 

"Just breathe Brady." A rare time when Owain didn't contribute to the lack of air in the room with prose, as his eyes looked steely but the hand keeping his blade steady was holding the hilt tightly. "They'll be here soon." The young lordling sat down and yet his leg didn't stop moving, jackhammering at a nervous speed. Owain barely repressed a nervous chuckle before the sound of door being knocked on was heard. Then it was followed by a long pause, then two more knocks.

 

"Enter," Brady's voice was quivering on trepidation as Owain stood by his hand still holding on his blade.

 

"Was the knocking code really necessary?" Inigo's voice came from the door before it opened to reveal the rest of the others… As well as the young girl Annie. Kjelle still wore her greaves and cuisse, yet even without a majority of her armor, her scowl still cut sharply on her face.

 

"What's going on? Dinner is still going on in the main hall," Cynthia looked longingly at the door, a low growl heard from her stomach.

 

"Why exactly are we meeting in your chambers anyway?"

 

"This feels… Safe?"

 

"Are we having a sleep over?"

 

"You didn't tell them yet?" Brady looked tersely to Inigo, who gave him a shrug, though his face remained pensive.

 

"Better for you to tell them in the confines of your own home than in the main hall." Brady groaned as he leaned back in his chair, while Owain let out a small chuckle.

 

"U-Um, Brady, why did you all call us here?" Brady looked from between his fingers to see Noire starring at him, she looked just as tense as he felt. Her eyes skirted from him, to the walls, to even the closed window with enough anxiety to amplify Brady's own.

 

"Gods damn it all," he growled now. Everyone turned towards him now, ceasing their own chatter. "Lucina's been taken."

 

"Yeah, we know stupid." That floored Brady, as his eyes snapped open to look at Severa. "But she'll be coming back soon when she learns Sir Flirts Bad and the Walking Thesaurus are already here." Neither Inigo nor Owain made any effort to counter Severa, the circumstances not calling for brevity yet.

 

"Wha-No! I mean Lucina's been captured! Taken prisoner by Plegia!" That got everyone's attention as Brady collapsed back into his chair. "The rider that died attempting to get to us did not survive, but was one of the lord's retainers that accompanied Lucina to Renga Ferox." The dying man's words sent cold chills through Brady's being.

 

_"T-The Plegians… The Plegians have t-the Princess… Betrayed, betrayed from… Our… Own…_ "

 

The man had died after whispering that message to Brady, a look of regret and that of anguish on his face. Brady himself recognized the man as one of Duke of Hub's riders. Such a thought that perhaps the Duke of Hub amongst either those slain in the Plegian ambush of Lucina or that perhaps the Duke was even one of the conspirators… No, that couldn't be!

 

_The people love Lucina!_

 

"-ady! Brady!" His eyes snapped open as he felt someone kick his shin. He let out a hiss at the feeling before noticing it was Kjelle who kicked him, with her armored sabatons at that!

 

"What?"

 

"Inigo and Owain explained what they could about the situation." Now Brady noticed that Kjelle had her shoulders tensed up, looking around the door. In fact most of the others shared the same nervous sentiment. Severa, who much like Lucina and never let her blade off her person, had one hand holding the hilt, while the young child Annie simply looked nervous, sickly even.

 

"We have to save Luci!" Cynthia proclaimed before being elbowed harshly by Severa. "Yowch!"

 

"You idiot! Don't be so loud!" The room within the room was tense and heavy. A sensation that should be alleviated by a better leader than himself.

 

" _Luci I know you don't want us to go with you, but we're your Shepherds! If you don't lead us, who will?"_

 

_"… Brady."_

 

_"Brady?!"_

 

_"Me?!"_

 

_"I will apologize for questioning you Lucina, but why in Naga's name are you appointing Brady as your interim? He has no martial prowess to speak of, unless you count his stumbling feet!"_

 

_"H-Hey!"_

 

_"He doesn't need any fighting experience to be a good leader. He's already a good listener."_

 

_"Huh?"_

 

"G-G-Guys—" Brady choked out his words. A sharp whistle interrupted him though, and everyone to look at Owain. He stood tall and proud, a beaming look on his face.

 

"If my honored cousin is captured by our most dastardly of enemies, then we must set ourselves off on a quest to—"

 

"Get to the point Prince Talks A Lot!" Severa's scowl was on full force now. Her amber eyes and pale hair making her look even more otherworldly and terrifying.

 

"We must go after Lucina and save her ourselves if we can trust the others!" Owain finished with a laugh. A small pause was made before the most timid of Lucina's shepherds voiced his opinion.

 

"W-W-We need to act fast, o-or else they'll hurt Lucina." Yarne's quivering voice was a loud shout in the stilled silence of the room. "L-Lucina was always nice when w-w-we are all younger, w-when she could have left me in the dust… She saved me a-after my home was b-burned… I want to save her." Owain approached Yarne now, despite there being only a two-year age difference, Owain's larger body towered over Yarne, even when he bent the knee to clasp Yarne on the shoulder.

 

"Don't worry, we'll save my cousin. We're her Shepherds after all." A large grin was on Owain's face. "Even if we have to fight the world, we'll save Lucina." A silent nod of agreement came from the room as they all began to discuss the necessities for their journey. Though the mood of the room had changed, Brady felt a sense of uselessness. Owain may share blood with Lucina, and the blood of the Exalt was that of a blood which had a right to the minds of hearts of Ylisse's citizens, the Princess had given the task of leading her Shepherds to him, and yet he couldn't even get them to listen to him.

 

"Yarne can you track Lucina by smell?"

 

"I-I'm a taguel, not a bloodhound!"

 

_I need to find someway to cover for our absence… And a way to leave Themis…_

 

"We can't leave officially…" Brady said off handedly. "If we try to talk to the other nobles, the Plegians might learn about and kill Lucina if the traitor hears about this… We need to move fast." Everyone stared at Brady now, though he didn't notice it. Too deep in his own mind and thoughts to notice them. "We need transport, food, supplies, a reasonable cover for our travels through Plegian controlled territory, but not something that would cause alarm for any remaining Ylissean resistance."

 

_We didn't even think of that!_

 

"Uhm!" A hand was raised and a small voice that came following it made everyone turn to the littlest, youngest, and newest member of this band of champions. With her stark red hair and eyes shining with enthusiasm, a driven look to help her idol was plainly written on her face.

 

"I-If we need a reason, why not we be like my mommy?"

 

**-End of Chapter 11: Startling Revelations-**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages of All the Childeren at the End of the Chapter:
> 
> Lucina - 15  
> Kjelle - 16  
> Cynthia - 13  
> Severa - 12  
> Noire - 13  
> Nah - 12  
> Owain - 14  
> Gerome - 13  
> Laurent - 11  
> Brady - 15  
> Inigo - 14  
> Yarne - 12  
> Annie - 11
> 
> Dead Parents:
> 
> Frederick + Sumia  
> Kellam + Miriel  
> Cordelia  
> Maribelle + Vaike  
> Libra + Tharja


	12. The Consequences of Miscommunication

 

_"Young lord, where are you going?" The head butler of Castle Themis looked solemnly as the young Duke counted coins from the Themis vault. The coins were from his own personal allowance that the young Duchess Maribelle had given him over the years._

_"Chaucer… Tell no one else, but the Princess has been captured due to a betrayal one of her very own subjects." Any sign of shock in the older man was only seen in the slight widening of his eyes. The man was old, older than most others in Ylisse. He had seen five monarchs of Ylisse, the very late Exhalt Farbe, the late Exhalt Lucis the Bloody, the deeply missed late Exhalt Emmeryn, the honorable Exhalt Chrom, and now the young Princess Lucina._

_Each and every one of the Exhalts were startling different in their own right, and were it not for personally meeting each of them, he would have never thought they were of the same blood. From the wizened Farbe, to his son Lucis, that change in leadership had scared the man, who was only a simple servant within the castle Themis household._

_He had been there when the late of Duke of Themis, the Duchess Maribelle's father was indicted with treason and put into prison for the rest of his days. He was older then, and the raising of the young Duchess came into his responsibility. He had done his best, but he thought the child would never find love. It was only when she came home after that long war with Plegia, a ruffian warrior on her arm who spoke about himself too much had not an ounce of nobility within him, he thought he was even more of a failure._

_Then she began to smile and laugh even more than she had ever before, and he learned that the man who grew to be Duke of Themis was a kind man to the poor folk and treated all the servants on the same level as himself._

_Then when young Brady was born, he found himself an old man starring happily at the happiness of his charge at her child. A charge whom he taught alongside the Duchess and raised like his own, who used to call him "grandpa" when he was younger, and still did when the Duchess wasn't listening. (The Duchess used to call him uncle when she was younger as well, but well that was before the strictness of noble mindset was made). The young Brady was clumsy, rough speaking, and acted very much like his father, but like his father, held tenderness for the people he governed, and like his mother, wanted to do right by everyone he met._

_Which is why he was scared when Brady said he was going to save the Princess. He had met the Lucis the Bloody but meeting that man had not been the same harrowing experience when meeting Princess Lucina. Yes, she had been kind when dealing with children, and aloof at best with the other nobles, but there was that dark inclination that she held. Something seemingly erupting in her eyes most often when she held her swords, or after the other warriors came back; most would be tired and weery, yet he saw there was a mad light of enjoyment in her eyes._

_"Do your best young master. Please come home safe…"_

"-ady! Brady!"

"Hzah?" the young noble shot up from his position atop a barrel. How he was able to sleep with his back bent completely over. "What? Are we under attack?"

"No, but it's morning." He blinked as his eyes readjusted to the cart's dark covering to see Owain looking at him with a smirk.

"What?"

"Nothing." The wagon hit a rock and rumbling set throughout it, Inigo and Brady's eyes both snapped to side as they heard a yelp. It wasn't Yarne whom also sat in the carriage with them, mainly for his distinct Taguel features. The young boy, in fact, looked relaxed for once, mostly due to that he was both out of prying eyes and nestled within Kjelle's derelict armor. However, the one who let out a yelp was Laurent, who gingerly rubbed the top of his head after a book that sat atop a crate he was leaning on fell and hit him. That same book likewise landed on the sleeping Inigo's stomach, whom promptly groaned awake.

"Are you guys doing fine back there?" Cynthia's head poked through the cloth separator. Yarne's external ear twitched, while Owain and Brady shot the girl thumbs up before she turned back forward. She gently rubbed Magnolia's flank, comforting the Pegasus which served as a mock packhorse.

"I didn't know you could control a wagon Annie," Cynthia asked her driver. Annie's ears began to redden as she held onto the reins.

"M-Mother taught Annie how to do when Father was out. Mother told Annie that learning how to use a wagon and how to sell things are in Annie's blood." Cynthia didn't know how to respond to that so she just hummed and rubbed the girl's head, who held onto the reins even tighter. Besides them, Noire, Kjelle, and Severa walked alongside it.

They'd been traveling for four days now, following the same Northern route that Lucina was meant to take towards the southernmost Feroxi settlement, the Longfort. Under the guise of merchants, who often could walk between captured Plegian settlements and free Ylisse settlements without issue, they were attempting to find the area where Lucina's caravan had broken off… Somehow.

"Oi! Peter Cottonmouth, wake up!" Severa's rough voice barely stirred the sleeping half-Taguel as the silver-haired swordswoman poked her head through the curtains. Scowling as she saw Yarne sleeping soundly in the armor, she brought up the stick she had been using to nudge rocks on the road and slammed it hard against Kjelle's armor. A low gong-like noise was heard before Yarne shot up like a tree out of the opening with a look of absolute fear etched on his face.

"Yeeeeee! We're under attack! Under attack! Under—" He got no further before Severa thumped the back of his head with the stick. He let out a whine of pain before he turned with tearful eyes back to the girl.

"Get up stupid sniffer. Sun's almost set now." Yarne poked his head out of the curtain to see the glowing red sky now beginning to overtake the blues overhead. "You know the drill, right? Stay in so far as to be able to at least  **smell**  either one of us or the wagon and try to find Lucina's scent."

"I-I know…" Yarne stuttered weakly before stepping out of the wagon as Severa climbed in. Doing a few stretches to warm himself up from sleep, the others began to busy themselves up with switching the travel roster for fresh combat-ready people. For the most part, any fighting they did have were on their terms, with their numbers and general experience able to either overpower or scare off the solitary highway toll man. Plegians and Risen though they had yet to see, however, one can never be too careful in this situation.

"R-Remember to hold the reins just tight enough to keep them going straight. A-Also that Natasha is rather skittish at the night so—"

"I already remember the first time you told me…" Laurent sighed as he took his seat on the front of the wagon, grasping the reins that Annie passed off to him. "Go to sleep Annie. You've been awake far longer than you should." She was about to counter the slightly older boy's remark before he gently pushed her forehead lightly for her to fall back into Cynthia, who laughed lightly as Laurent turned back forwards and Annie was pulled back into the wagon.

"Another long night?" Brady plopped himself down beside the younger man, bring up fur over to cover him.

"Depends…" Laurent mused eyes narrowed forward, his usual lack of depth perception not helped at all by the darkness of the moonless night. If he concentrated enough, even he could hear the occasional shaking of underbrush from Yarne's nighttime circuit. "We have little to no information aside from the direction that the rider took to get here. There's been no sign of any fighting, any sign of a prolonged battle. We're walking in the dark."

"More like peddling in the dark."

"Oh look at you with the jokes," Brady groans as he turns to the sound of Inigo, who laughs lightly as he walked closer to the cart. "All we can do is wander aimlessly in the dark hoping Yarne can sniff something out."

The sound of rushed footsteps queued the two to their left as Laurent heeled the horse's reins, Brady reached for a wood axe at his side whilst Inigo half drew his blade. The rustling and footsteps continued until Yarne's head popped into torchlight, and he blanched upon seeing their readied stances.

"W-Why are you guys pointing your weapons at me?" Yarne's voice somehow was several octaves higher whilst still being maintained at a hushed whisper. Inigo just groaned before sheathing his blade.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Did you find something?" Yarne looked tense before nodding.

"Owain! Brady and I shall go with Yarne!"

"Got it!" Brady's voice was heard from the back of the cart, the sound of a whetstone being ground on a blade soon accompanying the silence. Brady hopped off the cart, still bringing the wood axe with him, before accompanying Yarne and Inigo, a low burning torch in tow in Inigo's hand.

"What did you find?"

"A sign of a struggle?"

"What do you- By the Gods!" Inigo and Brady stopped at the sight of what they saw. Several bodies, Ylissean just by armor, glowed in the torchlight as they hung from the branches. Brady could recognize the Duke of Hub and Lord Diomedon amongst the hanging corpse, swinging listlessly in the air.

Looks of absolute betrayal and despondence etched onto frozen glassed eyes stared at the three, though while Brady and Inigo could stare in shock, Yarne was shaking as he gripped Inigo's cloak. Shaking the reprieve off, Brady quickly began to recite a small prayer, he knew naught the situation for their deaths or their role in Lucina's disappearance, but at the very least a small prayer should be given to those who have died.

"I-I didn't spot L-L-Lucina amongst the bodies, b-but there are s-some ropes that were cut." Yarne shook as he looked at the starring corpse before turning his gaze away. More so out of teaching, Brady cut the men down from where they hung, a pyre would have to do for now, and though he knew that making such a large fire wouldn't be advantageous… His mind wouldn't rest if he left them hanging.

"Hold on, what's this?" In the death clench of Lord Diomedon, Brady extracted parchment, cramped and slightly rip, but the tight clenching of the fist kept the unknown days of dew and moisture of soaking into the paper and ruining it further.

"What did you find?" Inigo had already picked up what Brady wanted to do, cutting down the men and layering them atop a large woodpile.

"A letter of some kind; bring the torch here." Brady got a better look even with the deadened torchlight. He immediately swore upon reading the letters, stained slightly in blood, of a message from Plegia. He gripped the letter with such force and anguish and understood immediately. Pocketing it himself, Brady looked at Inigo.

"Let's finish up here and regroup with the others, I know where to go no—" A howl interrupted Brady as both himself and Inigo snapped up at the noise. Howls are associated with wolves, however, no such sound could have come from a natural animal of any kind. No this could have only come from one thing.

"G-Guys!" Yarne pointed to the bodies that had been stacked, eyes now no longer glossy and blank, but glowing with a red ethereal gaze. The sound of stiff ligaments and joints being forcibly broken and bent filled the air along with a low moaning.

"Watch out!" Inigo's voice quickly was followed by the swing of his blade cutting just a hairsbreadth away from Brady's ear. He leaped and turned, seeing the once dead Lord Diomedon begin to rise up. Except instead of the immaculately polished beard and kind yet firm eyes, he saw the empty husk of a glassy red. The eyes of a corpse filled with malicious energy.

"Plegain bastards! They cursed the corpses!" Yarne quickly helped Brady up before the young Duke threw the smoldering torch to set the ground ablaze. A fire began to spread as Brady, Yarne, and Inigo stared in abject horror. Red eyes began to glow in the darkness past the flames, more than that had been hung. "This was a trap!"

"Retreat!" Brady shouted before a Risen leaped forward past the flame, embers being lit on its clothes, as the axe came crashing down on Inigo's blade. The force however from a creature that felt no real pain, was almost too much from Inigo and the axe glanced off the blade and clipped his head. Inigo was sent sprawling away, falling back before the Risen raised the axe blade once more intent on finishing him off.

"N-No!" A blur launched into the Risen, sending the creature back into the flames. Yarne crouched atop of Inigo as blood began to cloud one eye, and from his narrowed vision, saw a sort of feral snarl on Yarne's lips.

"Come on!" Brady quickly hauled both of them, the older boy's strength something that he got from his father, hauling the two away. "Inigo are you alright."

"I'm just dandy." Being hauled away so easily by someone who gets tearful just at getting one's finger cut, Inigo couldn't lie and say he didn't feel a little ashamed. Never mind the wound on his head made him light-headed, his spirit felt like it was wavering.

With only limited vision, Inigo had not noticed how close Brady had taken them until he saw the fire. A large roaring pyre that seemed to burn the night sky back into day with its intensity.

"Why would you think casting a fire tome would be a good idea in a FOREST!" Kjelle booming voice could be heard even as wood crackled and the Risen shrieked as flames scorched their decrepit forms.

"It was the most logical solution! How else would we keep so many ba-!"

"The! Forest! Is! On! Fire!" Each word from Kjelle was punctuated by either her shield or spear keeping the Risen back from the cart. Overhead standing on the wagon's canvas and wire top, Noire did her best with her arrows, firing at Risen that came from afar.

"Coming through!" Brady, who's usual timid temperance would gawk at anything noteworthy in Court or in social situations, thought nothing as he leaped clear over the flame that Inigo saw far too late for his sanity. He, and Yarne (though Yarne already would have), screamed in sudden fright as flames licked their noses.

"Ah ha! Are brave compatriots have returned from—"

" **Get in the cart you insufferable curs!** " Noire's altered voice roared from overhead and cut a laughing Owain off. The sheer audacity of it causing Brady to throw Yarne and Inigo inside to a tersely smiling Cynthia who readied a javelin before launching one, catching a Risen in the leg before Kjelle's spear severed its neck.

"That's everyone! Let's go!" Laurent leaped into the wagon after helping Kjelle in. Annie, who was shaking like a leaf before she turned forward and her eyes tried to spot a clear path.

"Hyah!" She flicked the reins, causing the jittering equines to break into a full gallop towards the flames.

"Why is it always fire!" Yarne screamed before the horses and the carriage careened through a gap in the dancing flames. Any residual embers and sparks were beaten dead by Noire from atop, or Owain who had nearly fallen off after the initial fall had Kjelle not grabbed him.

"Lucina is not even here for the fire!" That's when Brady's eyes widened as his hand went towards his satchel. Fishing around, his fingers grasped roughed crumpled parchment and pulled it out. It was here, the bloodstained letter of Plegian origin.

The sun's morning rays had begun to rise now, and Brady saw they were on the main road in some flat plains, waist-high grass sprouted around them. Behind him now the fire was the speed of the horse's gallop having brought them far from the source of the Risen and the melee, though now it seemed that exhaustion had taken over the entire party; including the horses.

Even so, his tired eyes flicked through the lines once more. A yawn had erupted from Yarne that became infectious amongst the party, yet Brady shook his head.

"Where did the map go?" Brady searched around before finding it squashed under a shoulder piece of Kjelle. Sitting beside Annie, who's eyes drooped from only getting the partial amount of sleep she could have, his eyes flicked until he found what he was looking for on the map.

"Annie, where on the map do you think we are?" Tired and without a word, the girl's finger sluggishly landed on a spot between Rutermark and Themis.

"Head southwest towards Plegia, I know where Lucina is."

_We can't be too late! We can't be!_

**-1-**

They had found it after running away after helping their father in the field. Into the forest, where their mother said never to go, yet they continued to do so because that was their secret spot. Deep in the confines of a dark forest, where that wasn't a field needing to be maintained, or a life that revolved around crops, lay only adventure and mystery.

"Wait for me!" The younger of the two's voices was alight with enthusiasm as he chased the larger and faster figure ahead. His sister, older by two years, his best friend. Their names are Sarah and Paul.

"No way! I'm going to be the first to make it to the oasis!" The oasis, their name for the small creek in the depths of the forest. A place where they would go with the other kids had their parents not force them to stay within the confines of their home. "I can see—"

She stopped and halted, allowing her brother to finally catch up. He did not think why she stopped, only that in doing so, allowed him to run up and hug her from behind, intent to scare her for racing ahead of him. He did not get the reaction of shock he expected, but that of number silence.

Eventually, he looked up to what Sarah was staring so intently at.

A figure kept standing by the five elongated protrusions from their body, three ends exiting from them at the front and two anchoring their back, both keeping it standing calf-deep in the creek. It would not have stood taller, the height of whatever it was barely over their own, yet it seemed even smaller because of its bent and contorted form. It was leaning forward, pushing itself ever so slowly further passed its initial position on the poles that held it up.

The children both saw armor of some kind, not at all like the kind they see on the soldiers who passed by atop their horses when they galloped through the land, that of richly polished steel beautifully molded by artisans and crafted to sturdy perfection by master blacksmiths. No, this figure's armor looked dirty and malformed, as if raw chunks of iron were placed against them.

Greaves that jutted out sharply and with gashes over the top of them lead up to worn leather leggings, cut to show the patches of iron chain mesh below. The figure's hauberk was a ruined mess, stitched together pieces of several pieces of leather with metal inlaid atop like rudimentary armor. Belts, pouches, and several holsters of knives and other oddities line their body and waist, while a ragged tattered cloak hung languidly on its shoulders, a wolf's head perched on its shoulder, its jaw dug into it. A handle boking out from behind its frozen wide jaw.

One arm was encased entirely within a gauntlet, both the lower and upper arm. The pieces looked heavy and fortified as if several layers of iron had been poured over whatever gashes were made until it resembled less like a gauntlet and more like a demonic shield attached to their body. Their other arm was bare of such a monstrosity, instead, it was kept within a thin leather covering, with a forearmed length leather glove over the hand, it is gripping a dull stained blade in its hand.

As the children looked upward, they saw a near demonic visage. If their arm and legs looked as if raw iron had been placed atop of them without form, the figure's helmet looked as if molted iron had been poured atop their head. A misshapen lopsided masked helm, it showed no indication of any life behind the shadows of its cover, nor did it seem any sign of life looking from its beyond. However, the most peculiar thing about the helmet's outer appearance was that at the base where it wrapped around a person's neck, a solid gold band no bigger than half the size of a hand lay. Wrapped around securely, it looked as if it were a functional gorget if it were not made of gold.

Neither child spoke, only stared at the figure showed no sign of seeing or acknowledging them. They were not sure even if there was anyone even alive in the armor had it not been from the sound that came from when they moved.

As if a thousand leaves had been stepped on whilst a thousand bones were snapped. A sickening haunting noise was heard as the figure's head turned to look down at the five... Spears, those were spears that held the figure up, the children soon realized. Spears impaled through its body and yet whatever was within the confines of the armor still lived.

It looked down at its punctured torso, five complete egregious wounds which impaled through their body. While the boy was young and had yet to shed his earliest naivety, the girl had not. Before her brother grew to understand of himself, she had seen her father take up arms with other men and the traveling Ylissean knights against the Plegians that came to raze their village. She had seen men die as they were pierced front to back and left to die in screaming from her home. She had seen it all and thought this figure would meet the same—

The sound of a sickening crunch was heard as they both stared at the figure raised its arm up before smashing through the spear, breaking off one so only a hand length sticking up out of her stomach was left before she pushed it through her body was a sickening noise of raw meat being ground. The boy covered his ears and closed his eyes, the noise was grating and inhumane to the ears. The girl though could not look away, even as the spear within the figure's body was fully extracted and dropped beside it, only to continue to do the same for the next, and the next, and the next, until all the spears were pulled out from it and it was left standing on its own two legs. The blue water of the creek stained with the red of blood that came from the holes in its body and the blood of spears.

That's when the figure's "head" turned to look up at the two, both froze immediately. Like a wolf staring at a rabbit, or snake towards a rat, both felt paralyzed by the visage of the figure in front of them. They couldn't hear, think, or even breathe; they felt paralyzed by the figure as it stared at them.

It took a step, sloshing through the water. Their legs quivered, and she felt her brother grip her tight. It took another step, its arm raising the blade up catching the sun. The blade was covered in dark red flakes. Her brother closed his eyes and tucked his face close to her side as she held him tight. It was closer and now she could breathe its malice, it's hatred, this was something from the very depths of Hell, something which brought death no matter where it went.

And now it was going to kill them—

The blade flashed out, hurtling towards them like a diving hawk. She flinched and closed her eyes, knowing death would come and feeling the pain of a blade slicing through her, only for it to not. Instead, she looked up to the figure looming over them, standing so that her eyes were level to hip as it shadowed over them, its arm stretched out past them.

She turned around, her entire body feeling numb, and her visage clouded like she was in a dream, to see what the figure hit, to find a wolf's head mere inches behind her neck, jaw opened wider than it should as a blade had plunged itself down its throat. She stared wide-eyed as the other wolves that had followed it stare with wide enrapture as the figure dislodged its blade from the lead wolf's head, the dull blade slicing cleanly back out as it went through. It flopped uselessly on the ground and the other wolves scattered back deeper into the forests.

The figure looked down at the children now, and it was then she knew that the figure was staring at her, not passed her as it did once before. And she stared back with wide opened eyes at the dark void from within the helm, where she knew unseeing eyes stared back at her.

The sword was dropped now, clattering to the ground and shattering into shards once it had left its hand and hit the ground. The hand, now free of the sword, was open and began to descend towards her face. She felt fear then, scared that now her life would be forfeited, only for a light pressure to be felt only at the top of her head.

The hand was smoothing her head, back and forth with only the lightest of touch to her, as if in a trance. She stared wide-eyed, and so did her brother as the figure who smelled of iron and steel, and looked like a monster made of metal and leather, give feather-like touches to the top of her head.

Then it froze as it started back up. The hand froze just above her head before a change was felt in the air. Then the figure moved in a flurry a movement, metal, leather, and cloth clattering against it as it picked them up.

"Wah!"

"Woah!"

Both of the siblings had no control over their lives now, as the figure grasped both them up with one arm and began to rush forward as the sky itself began to change. No longer the picturesque clear blue of a sunny day, now it seemed as if night had come hours earlier than it should, and its suddenness made the sky itself bleed as a red glow began to overtake where the bright sun had shown.

"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

Both siblings looked up towards the figure that held them as it ran, with a hollowed and strident voice of a beast than a man. It made guttural noises and sounds that the girl heard from the creatures that went about at night, monsterous to the mind of a child, and seeing one now had her paralyzed. Its mutterings sounded rambled and frantic, bordering on maddened and enraged in a tongue that sounded inhuman; it continued to run closer and closer towards their home until at last, they broke the forest and into the farms of their village to see everything aflame.

The children gasped as they saw their parents run towards them, eyes wide as the figure that held them deposited them on the ground.

"Sarah! Paul! Thank Naga your safe!" The figure brushed past them and walked towards the burning village. Already she could feel them, could feel her blood roar in rage that they still continued to persist after all she has done. Hatred, loathing, and rage, so much rage was pooled within her now.

She could hear screams and roars of ethereal brutish power the further the burning inferno she got through. More and more villagers ran past her as she walked further and further towards the source of the flames. Already some of the villagers to slow to make it out, or too close to ground zero lay slain on the ground, blood pooling around them as the flames grew stronger.

"Raaah!" The decrepit roar of a Risen rang in her ears as she stared at the creature's grotesque form burst through a burning home. In one hand a massive bloody axe, in the other, the body of a woman, bisected from her shoulder. She saw red once more and rushed towards the Risen.

It dropped the woman's body as it roared and charged towards her. Its mind was deteriorated, but its body knew conflict as much as she did. It swung towards her head, and she dove to the side to avoid the swinging axe launching a foot out to collide with the exposed knee of the Risen Chieftain.

By all accounts, there are major differences between a Risen's body and that of a normal man. Flesh is flesh, and between the two, flesh is what is shared. However a Risen's bones are arguably harder and stronger than of a man's, like iron to rock, a Risen's body itself could be a weapon, and for who's method of slaughter came with their bare hands. No blood flood through a Risen's body, instead it was more accurate to say liquid malice and dark power from another realm was what allowed a Risen to move. If a man unarmed were to try and fight a Risen, a Chieftain at that, it would be like assailing a wall with a twig.

The Chieftain cried out as its knee exploded in a shower of dark energy, the force of the kick shattering through the bones and flesh like a club itself. It felt only a shadow of pain that a normal person would feel, yet, even so, this shock of a human body able to injure it so was shocking.

Before it could stand on its limped leg, another strike came hurtling towards it now, the armored left arm, moving at its head in an almost snake-like motion as wrapped itself securely underneath its chin. It struggled and flailed within her hold as she held on it, squeezing, squeezing, and squeezing some more. It needed no air and was vaguely confused why this person had its arm around its throat until it felt tearing.

Starting from its side, it began to realize what the person was doing and flailed even more. The axe barely able to cut her, only grazing skin, and to its horror, though blood was shed from her, the wounds did not serve to cease her attempts as she squeezed and squeezed and pulled even more, until—

In a sickening noise of flesh being torn, the Chieftain's head had been wrenched from where it lay on its body, as that flapped uselessly to the ground. Its jaw left in a horrific expression of an enteral scream as she held the head in her hand before dropping it and crushing it beneath her foot.

"They still die all the same time…" Her voice sounded like metal scraps being ground against an anvil, rough and grating to the ears, yet there was something more behind it. Then she looked up and noted with some sadistic glee that had long ago been unleashed, the feeling of euphoria once more ignited. More and more Risen began to fall from the sky and land in the remnants of this burning village. A tongue slithered out to moisten her lips as she grasped the Chieftain's fallen axe before slowing advancing towards the growing Risen hoard. "They all die the same…"

 

**-End of Chapter 12: The Consequences Of Miscommunication-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note 1: It has been a long time since I updated, life sucks and I have the waning motivation of a sunflower in a place where the sun has "meh" chance of rising. Likewise, more life excuse beat me down like a nail, and the hammer happens to be wielded by Thor on occasion. (Shoutout to the actual time I was electrocuted though)  
> Note 2: This chapter IS MEANT to feel a disconnect and hold differing feeling between the two passages of this chapter. It will be revealed later as for why and how I plan to rectify this disconnect if I can pull it off that is. At worse, this will leave people so disappointed they'll drop it. At best, I do something good.
> 
> Note 3: We've now entered more bloody territory as we go on forward, so heads up.
> 
> Note 4: I've also changed the structure of the "post-fic" section.

**Author's Note:**

> Story Facts:
> 
> Yes - Lucina is si(self-inserted)... Not really, or wholly. It'll be explained later.  
> No - Robin is not her mother, and Robin's gender for this is left ambgiously blank for a reason that I'll pull out of my hat later  
> Yes - This is in the "bad timeline" of Awakenings, meaning all our favorite parents will soon be dead  
> Yes - I love theatrics and bloody drawn out unrealistic cliched deaths. so expect to see those in the near future XD


End file.
